


Bury Our Love in Moondust

by nothelarifari



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Anxiety, Art, Bullying, Caring, Coming Out, Depression, Domestic Violence, First Love, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hardships, Heartbreak, IT'S SAD BUT CUTE OKAY?, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Protectiveness, Secret Relationship, Secrets, Sideship: Hyungwonho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2019-06-30 06:28:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15746151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nothelarifari/pseuds/nothelarifari
Summary: This story tells about two boys in high school who became friends after a hazardous encounter with the worst bully at school, Kihyun. From the outside, the two boys couldn't be more different but inside both had to deal with their past and its influence in the present. Both fast realized that this friendship is exactly what they needed to escape those hardships.





	1. Starry Night

**Author's Note:**

> My friend Nami and I started this story a few months ago because of one gif which made my heart race out of joy. It is our first fanfiction and it inspired us to write our second one (Fly with me, Dandelion!). Both stories became a big part of our lives and we are glad that we can share it with you! 
> 
> However, due to personal difficulties, Nami and I decided to go different ways which will not affect the stories in any way. The story will still continue as planned.
> 
> Credits to Nami for Chapter 1-6
> 
> Please keep in mind that I'm not a native speaker and that some mistakes could occur. Nevertheless, I hope you give this story a lot of love and enjoy it as much as we do!
> 
> ❀ Lara

Spring was Minhyuk's favorite season. When all the trees in the alleys and parks start to blossom and fill the air with their scents. It was the second Thursday of March which meant that Minhyuk's school organized its annual spring feast. Normally, he wouldn't go to feasts like that but since he and his mom moved back here to live with his stepfather he takes every opportunity to avoid being at home. But even though he went to the feast he tried to stay as invisible as possible and he just observed the people in his surroundings. Some students were dancing, some were drinking stuff they somehow managed to smuggle into the hall and others just cheered or laughed.

  
Minhyuk found an empty table and started sketching some silhouettes of the crowd which was dancing to the deafening music, he would never listen to if he had the choice. He kept looking around to find new motives he could draw when he suddenly spotted one of this semester's newcomers in the corner of the room. The boy looked like the total opposite of Minhyuk – chubby cheeks, athletic and a rather tough appearance. Minhyuk studied the boy for a bit and realized quickly that his look was just façade – aside of his secluded behavior he was visibly shy and it seemed as if the steadily increasing volume of the music and the loud crowd made him tense.

  
Minhyuk couldn't help himself when he felt that sudden urge to protect this timid boy. He decided to approach him when out of nowhere a red-headed guy appeared – his eyes fixed on the new guy and a sly smile spread across his lips. "Kihyun", he thought immediately after seeing the smooth and confident walk of the intruder.

  
Kihyun – a notorious ‘bad boy' and the worst bully at school – obviously wanted to get the shy boy's attention, but for an entirely different reason than Minhyuk. Since he was known for always hitting on the new guys who haven't got the chance to find friends and people who could somehow cover their backs.  
Although Minhyuk was torn between fear and courage he still decided to save the new guy who seemed to block out the situation. The guy closed his eyes and covered his mouth with the knuckles of his left hand when Kihyun stopped in front of him as if he knew what was going to happen. You would think that a tiny guy like Kihyun would fear people who are taller and more masculine than him but somehow, we managed that people fear him and his fellows. When Minhyuk rushed between Kihyun and that boy, he simply grabbed the boy's hand without saying a word and softly guided him out of the room without facing Kihyun or his fellows.  
Wonho looked confused at the strangers' faces who were passing him and the unknown skinny boy who was dragging him out of the room. That skinny blonde boy who came out of nowhere and guided him away from the uncomfortable situation that was about to develop. Wonho could only see the boy's blurred face for one second when he suddenly felt how someone reached for his hand and made him open his eyes out of confusion. But he couldn't see any features because Wonho's eyes were still teary and fuzzy. He was curious to see the boy's face but for now, he could only feel his hands and noticed how soft they were. Wonho couldn't help but squeeze them a little. Minhyuk was unsure what the boy wanted to gesture with that gesture – was he thankful, scared, confused? Maybe the boy wanted to let go of his hand but that would have been too embarrassing in front of all people, so Minhyuk also held his hand more firm which created a shy smile on Wonho's face.

After some meters, they managed to get through the dancing crowd and came to the exit door which led into the school's corridor. The corridor, which was only enlightened by some lanterns the students of the ball committee decided to hang on the lockers, was empty and the two boys were finally alone and beyond Kihyun's reach. A few more steps and Minhyuk finally turned around to look into Wonho's eyes.  
The bass of the music throbbed alongside with Wonho's racing heart. The moment when the door

snapped shut behind them the only thing they could hear was the silent echo of the music and their exhausted breathing. Wonho was numb when he first saw Minhyuk's face without the blurred features and contours. His hair was a little messy and some of its blonde strands hang into his eyes which made him blink more than usual – an uneven blink which immediately found a place in Wonho's heart. "The cutest person in the world", Wonho thought when he first saw Minhyuk's concerned dark brown eyes staring at him. He wanted to say something to him, but this tension still didn't allow him to speak.

  
As Minhyuk noticed Wonho's intense and hectic gaze Minhyuk felt how his heart broke a little. The unknown boy was clearly overwhelmed by this situation and desperately needed someone to guide him through this anxiety that wouldn't let him go. Still holding the boy's hand Minhyuk decided to say something and was about to introduce himself but all he could say was "Hi, are you alright? My name is Min..." as he suddenly felt how the boy's hand squeezed tighter and caused a little pain in his hand. Minhyuk was so fascinated by the boy that he didn't realize that the door got smashed open and Kihyun entered the hallway followed by his friends.

  
Kihyun's sinister eye went directly to the black-haired boy who wore a black leather jacket over a bit fancier shirt to look appropriate for the feast. He smiled devilish and looked over to his shoulder to give his friends Changkyun and Jooheon a sign to follow him. Together with his fellows, he headed to the two boys who gave Kihyun a feeling of confidence since both looked at him with wide eyes and showed him a clearly anxious behavior because their hands were still like they were chained together.

  
Kihyun's playful and devilish stare made Wonho much more uncomfortable and felt that weird feeling of danger in his stomach. He didn't like it to be in the spotlight, especially not if it is some cool bad guy or a bully, which seemed to happen at that very moment. People like him always made him tense and because of his past, he preferred to avoid them. Wonho grabbed Minhyuk's hand tighter again since he was still too anxious to actually do something. Minhyuk noticed what an impact Kihyun's stare had on that guy and he knew how it felt to be his target, so he stood himself in front of Wonho. Minhyuk still didn't let go of his hand, instead, he caressed the boy's knuckles with his thumb to put him somehow at ease.  
Minhyuk knew what Kihyun was about and he knew that he will also become one of his targets again because he was already used to Kihyun's game. Newcomer means new victim — a new victim means new drama and new pain. But Minhyuk started this situation when he stood up and went over to the boy and he definitely didn't want to let the new guy alone with him – it was rather the opposite. Minhyuk always tried to keep care of people. It is somehow a part of his nature. Also… for Kihyun.

  
Minhyuk and Kihyun have been friends since kindergarten because he used to live next to him across the street and they became close childhood friends when they first met while playing outside on the lawn. But after Minhyuk's parents have been divorced and his father has left them, he and his mother left the town because the house and the city life, in general, was too expensive. That was the reason why the boys lost contact. Sadly, Kihyun changed a lot and when Minhyuk and his mom moved back into the city he found Kihyun like that. He became the mean guy searching for victims to bully. And of course, Minhyuk was also a newcomer when he came back and had to face his game of "Hunter and hunted". He's still not sure if it was revenge for leaving him behind, which was not true or if he just didn't care anymore. First Minhyuk was sad about how Kihyun, his former best friend, treated him but he was somehow happy that he didn't become one of his followers and didn't play his disgusting game together with him. But Minhyuk was sick of his game. He didn't want this shy guy to feel even more uncomfortable. Minhyuk didn't want him to go through all of this alone like he had to.

  
"What are you planning to do, Kihyun? Beat the trash out of him with your pals? Or better introduce yourself first as a gentleman and then stab him from behind?", the skinny blonde boy acted all confident.

  
Kihyun squeezed his eyes a little and laughed out loud when he saw that Minhyuk went in front of Wonho. "Great." he thought, "This will bring us more drama as I had planned."He watched Minhyuk fiercely but then smiled. "Oh Minhyuk, so childish and yet he acts so confidently." Kihyun thought excited. He knew Minhyuk and he knew that this was just a façade – a role he was trying to act to impress. Kihyun likes to play with humans, especially when they hurt him first, and he can act out of revenge. Even though it is long forgotten for him that Minhyuk just vanished out of his life, he still enjoys it to play with him and tests his limits. He was just so sensitive and fragile. He was really amused how protective Minhyuk was for that unknown boy.

  
"Ohh little sunshine boy, I just wanted to welcome our new student to our school." Kihyun smiled innocently but knew this phrase would hurt Minhyuk because it was the nickname Minhyuk's father always used to get him inside the house. Kihyun made a step forward and tried to get between Minhyuk and the unknown boy, which failed because Minhyuk stepped in front of Wonho just like a shield.

  
Kihyun looked annoyed at Minhyuk but then returned to focus on Wonho and made a gesture with his hand to introduce himself.  
"I'm Yoo Kihyun, but you can call me Kihyun. You may have heard much about me but 90% are just rumors and I'm actually an angel. I don't want to harm anybody." Kihyun said in an exaggerated sarcastic way.

  
Wonho stared at Kihyun, still like an insecure bunny, but he cleared his throat and started to loosen the grip a little of that protective "Min"-guy's hand to let him know he can do this. After Wonho loosened his handgrip Minhyuk noticed how strong it actually was because he felt how the blood slowly found its way back into his fingers and created that weird throbbing feeling in his fingertips.

  
"Hey, I'm Hoseok and ehh... I don't think that it's really a pleasure to meet you since you don't look like an angel at all… rather like a fuck boy everybody just pretends to like. So yeah, if you could excuse us?"

  
Even though Minhyuk tried to be confident in front of that new guy, he and Kihyun both knew it was just acting and that the defensive shield he was trying to pull off was just restricted. Kihyun just waited until Minhyuk would give up and run away with that guy but none of them expected this turn and what that shy guy — which nearly broke down in the ballroom — just said into Kihyun's face all out of a sudden.

  
Kihyun's expression became more serious now as if the game was played against his rules. But Minhyuk's eyes widened — he had this feeling in his chest as if he was waiting for this moment since he came back to this school. He couldn't help but grin and bite his lip so he wouldn't start laughing and get hit by Kihyun. Wonho made steps backward — now he was the one dragging Minhyuk away from Kihyun and the other boys. But every one of them knew by Kihyun's facial expression that this was just the first hazardous encounter.

  
Changkyun clears his throat to remember him that he and Jooheon were still there which made Kihyun, who had still a very serious expression on his face, slowly turn around. Jooheon avoided Kihyun's gaze and just padded his shoulder to somehow tell him that it wouldn't always work out how he wants and giggled a bit. But Kihyun wasn't amused – not even the slightest touch of amusement. He watched how Hoseok and Minhyuk slowly fled from this situation but Kihyun didn't say anything. This would be the first and last time that he would let them go, he thought. From that moment he needed to plan things out from the smallest detail because he couldn't play his hunter and hunted game how he used to.

  
But he knew that it will be even more fun because he had the chance to tease that newcomers Hoseok and an old foe, he wasn't done with at all, at the same time. Kihyun knew that he would enjoy this kind of game-change which again created that devilish smile on his face. He was able to break him once before and he could already feel that this time it could be even more fun.

  
In the meanwhile, the two boys found their way into the dark schoolyard, trying to catch their breaths since they started running after the first corner of the hallway. "This was a really exciting but scary thing that he did," Wonho thought about himself. Normally he wouldn't even think about saying such things, but the adrenaline and the strength that the other boy was giving him was encouraging him so much. He was incredibly thankful that this boy came and helped him without even knowing him. Just the fact that he noticed what was going on while the other people in the room continued as if nothing was about to happen, although they also must have known what kind of guy Kihyun was, made Wonho interested in that strange skinny boy.

  
After some seconds Minhyuk started smiling all over his face, looked to Wonho and said "This was a really brave thing that you did there, Hoseok. I'm deeply impressed." His eyes were shining so much, his smile was so bright and his aura, in general, gave Wonho a feeling of comfort like he finally came home from a long journey.

  
Wonho kept starring at Minhyuk and tried to escape his gorgeous smile before he answered him. "Thank you for rescuing me in there... I must have looked lost and pitiful because you felt the need to save me," he said silently with a cracking voice. For the first time, he let go of Minhyuk's hand so Wonho could sit down on the ground next to where the boy was standing and leaned back against the cold wall. Minhyuk also let himself slide down to sit next to Hoseok and looked at him with a little-faded smile now.

  
"It is a bit of a long story but I know the feeling too well… The feeling of how it is to be his target. I was a newcomer too and you don't want to face him alone when you are new and know nobody. Okay… actually, nobody wants to face him alone anytime, to be honest."

  
The boys' eyes met for a few seconds until Minhyuk continued: "I saw you there… how you kind of hid yourself from the others, the new surrounding and all those strangers. I saw that everything was too much for you and how you tried to convince yourself to not run away. I've been through this situation and I didn't want you to be all alone too but then when I finally decided to speak to you, Kihyun approached you…I couldn't let him."

  
Hoseok looked at Minhyuk, speechless about what he just said because people normally block out their surroundings and mute everything that isn't related to themselves or could bring themselves in danger. Wonho wasn't sure if he was just bored and saw him in there all lost but he somehow felt that Minhyuk was different and that he really cared. "It must have been hard for him", Wonho thought. He looked in the distance to search something that he could concentrate on while speaking.

  
"You're the first person that did something like that… for me or anybody I think. I'm sorry that I caused you trouble." He wiped his hands off his jeans since they became a bit sweaty. Hoseok felt Minhyuk's gaze but he couldn't dare to look at him. This situation remembered him too much of his past, where he and his best friend were hanging around mostly at night, talking about god and the world and how they can escape their boring life together and totally forgot how life really looked like. But he couldn't think about this again… he couldn't let this affect him again because it would remind him about how things ended with Hyungwon and this always made him feel like he needed to throw up. "No… Hoseok…", he said to himself in thoughts, "…concentrate on the here and now."  
He sighed but finally said with a quiet voice "Thank you." to Minhyuk, finally able to look at him and gave him a little smile.

Minhyuk, also smiling, finally got the chance to introduce himself: "Because we got disturbed by ‘Mr. Fuck Boy'...", Minhyuk needed to giggle and wanted to brighten up the mood somehow, "…I'm Minhyuk. Nice to meet you."

  
Hoseok needed to smile at how ridiculous this was and nodded, saying him his name again. "But you can also call me Wonho if you want. I'm more comfortable with that."

  
Minhyuk looked into Hoseok's eyes again and said "Okay, then it is Wonho." and smiled now the brightest smile ever.  
Because neither of them planned to go home already the boys silently remained outside the venue. Together with the silent echo of people's laughs and music from the party they sat on the cold ground and spent their time together by simply watching the sky.

  
Wonho enjoyed Minhyuk's company. Sure, it reminded him of old times before the incident, but it was a different feeling this time. Starring up there in the same sky with Minhyuk made him feel safe and he realized that it was the first time that he really enjoyed any company since then. He was lost in his thoughts and didn't notice that Minhyuk was watching him when he suddenly said: "Did you ever have the feeling that you are like one of those stars… or maybe the moon coated by clouds? Like… the feeling that even though people seem to like you, nobody really knows you? That people are hearing you but don't really listen? Others just know your face, name and maybe know where you live but they don't really know and care about the person itself. Sometimes I feel like that – like I'm always covered by a cloud."

  
He said that so silently that he almost mumbled because he was unsure of Minhyuk's reaction. He feared that Minhyuk may think that he was weird or that he might think he's one of those wannabe poets. But Minhyuk just kept gazing at Wonho who kept watching the sky. It almost looked like he was hypnotized by the moon, but how much he tried to detangle his thoughts he couldn't find the right words to answer. So, he also looked up to watch the clouds wander through the starry night and let the boy's words repeat in his mind.

  
After a minute of silence, Wonho looked at Minhyuk and added: "Are you happy...with your life?"

  
Minhyuk was a little confused by this situation. He never found somebody before who talked about topics like that. It is a rare thing to find friends at this age who don't talk about alcohol, parties, and girls. It fascinated him.

  
"I can't answer you this since I'm asking these questions already to myself." he sighed, unsatisfied with his answer. Minhyuk felt happiness right now but was he really happy? Since his father had left them everything changed for Minhyuk – Luck and happiness weren't a thing for him anymore. People would say that he is a lucky boy. He got a home, a family, good grate and all that but happy? That's not how Minhyuk would describe himself.

  
Hoseok looked at him with a little sad smile, but he now knew that Minhyuk understood this feeling as well. The struggle of finding a way of feeling loved and having someone that truly understands you. He only had this which Hyungwon. He immediately tried to block out these thoughts again as soon as they approached.  
"It's okay, maybe we find our answer together," Hoseok said with a happier smile now which Minhyuk replied.

  
It was half-past eleven and some people already left the party. Both decided to stand up and walk a bit since both of their legs are a bit stiff after all this sitting. Minhyuk showed Wonho some insider places of the school in case he ever needed a quiet place and here and there told him some stories that came on his mind. They had a good time, laughed about the stories that Minhyuk told and just walked a bit. This was easy, uncomplicated and made both feel good. After some time flew by and the night fully arrived, they decided it is time to go home. But before that, they exchanged their numbers to stay in contact and waved at each other as they went their separate ways.

  
Just when Minhyuk turned around the first corner he looked at his phone and saw a notification. He opened it and saw a message from Wonho:

  
< This evening was really fun, thanks for that. Good night! >

  
Minhyuk, unable to hide it, smiled and continued to go home.


	2. Cherry Blossom

Neither of them could sleep that night — both were just laying on their beds and starred into the darkness that filled their rooms. They kept repeating their conversation and wondered how their relationship would develop if they became close friends. But maybe they would just see each other from time to time in the school hallways, although the hope that they found a new friend that night and would spend more time together was mutual. But of course, there was the situation with Kihyun and how the next encounter with him and his followers will end. The thought of it wouldn’t let them fall asleep. 

Minhyuk though was more scared about how this situation could affect Wonho than himself. He knew Kihyun. He knew his game so well because he felt it on his own skin. The thing that was bothering Minhyuk so much is that Kihyun must have realized how protective he was over Wonho. Minhyuk still wasn't sure why he felt this urgent need to protect him and why he couldn't let go of his hand earlier, but one fact was damn sure for Minhyuk – Kihyun realized it too and will take advantage of his feelings.

The next morning when Wonho woke up he had a small shock because although he lived here for some weeks already, he still didn’t get used to the new surroundings. It was still quite dark outside, but because his door was open the light of the hallway flooded his room. Wonho's older brother Shownu entered the room to wake him up for a morning run before school. Still super tired he tried to find the energy to change into his sports clothes and brush his teeth.  
Not knowing which route his brother would pick he followed Shownu down the streets. He was still super tired and the cold air was biting his skin but he found the motivation of how energetic his older brother looked running in front of him. He got himself together and sprinted a little to reach him, so they would run next to each other at the same speed.  
   
A few blocks later they found themselves near the river in a fancier area of the town where a guy in a hoodie tried to fix his car. When Wonho realized who it was he stopped immediately in the middle of the street and their eyes met. Unaware of what happens Shownu also stopped and nodded to Wonho if everything was alright. 

"Hey, who's that guy huh? Won't your new boyfriend be jealous if he finds out?!" Kihyun shouted snappy from the other side of the street.

On the one hand, Shownu was perplexed because he didn't expect his brother to already find friends and on the other hand because this comment just came out of the blue. He looked confused to his little brother but wanted to continue their route because he was quite busy.  
Wonho stared back at Kihyun, who just smiled his usual devilish smile as if it would be his normal face. 

"That's my brother but it's nice how you make a fool out of yourself," Wonho said sternly. 

But from the inside, he smiled and was proud that he was able to say something back that didn’t sound too dumb. He never was a boy that could pull off being sassy to anyone. Normally, he was too uncreative and a bit too shy for that but Kihyun wanted to provoke him and he knew that running away wouldn’t erase this situation either.

Kihyun looked annoyed that he couldn't really hit Wonho with his stupid comment but didn’t say anything more. He decided to ignore Wonho and continued to fix his beloved car again. Maybe he was a little scared too because he was alone and Wonho had his brother on his side but Wonho didn’t want to hold his brother back, so they continued his morning run. Wonho jogged beside Shownu again, giving him a look to not to worry about it and started to observe his surroundings again and tried to draw an invisible map of the streets in his mind. So, if he wanted to go somewhere, he could remember how to get there without getting lost. On the way, they passed a bridge, underneath of them was a small river which splashed a bit and looked crystal clear. At the way back to their home he noticed that the cherry trees in the nearby park started to blossom since it was the beginning of the season when all the dead looking trees turn into wonderful pink. He always enjoyed going to the cherry blossom festivals even though if it meant that he had to go to crowded places. Wonho always felt uneasy and timid when he had to go to crowded places or room which was full of people in general.

They finally reached their home as Wonho noticed a message from Minhyuk:

< Do you wanna go to school together? We can meet each other in the same spot where we said goodbye yesterday. >

And this little message was enough to make Wonho smile. He had the feeling that Minhyuk maybe also wanted him as a friend, just like Wonho felt about him. As he previously told him last night, he already experienced how people were just interested in him because of his look or his grades but never really because of himself as the person that he was. Experiencing such a mutuality where both wanted to know each other made him incredibly happy. 

< Sure. I’m looking forward to seeing you! What about in one hour? :) > Wonho answered.

< Great, I’ll be there! :) > Minhyuk wrote back immediately.

He decided to get into the shower after jogging, put on some comfortable clothes and searched for all the things that he needed for school. He put his earphones in, started one of his playlists and walked to the place where he would meet Minhyuk.  
Wonho knew that it was still thirty minutes too early to meet Minhyuk at their corner, but he wouldn’t mind waiting there for him because the spot is close to the park full of cherry trees and he could take photos of the blossom he passed with his brother earlier this morning.

But surprisingly he already found Minhyuk sitting there on the edge of the sidewalk drawing into an old worn sketchbook. He looked different today but Wonho couldn’t tell what it was, and neither he could tell his mood – concentrated, angry, sorrowful? He wasn't sure but he seemed to be little off today.  
Wonho walked closer to the crouched boy but Minhyuk didn’t notice him until he was standing right in front of him and blocked the sunlight. He was so sunken into his drawing. Just as Wonho, Minhyuk clearly was surprised to see him that early but looking up at his smiling face brightened his mood immediately.  
Wonho sat next to Minhyuk. 

“Hi, didn’t we say we’ll meet in one hour? What are you doing here so early?”, he said playfully.

"Hey… uhm… well, it was kind of a rough morning today. My mom and my stepfather were arguing and that’s not really a nice way to wake up to, you know? So, I thought escaping to a silent place with good memories would be a better option than having breakfast at home.”, Minhyuk answered. He was astonished that he already trusted Wonho to the extent that he told him that.

"I'm sorry about that," Wonho replied concerned. 

"But what about you? I mean I'm not the only one that came here that early.", Minhyuk added.

"I went for a run with my brother earlier and the park around the corner was full of cherry blossoms. I thought I would make some pictures. But then I found that skinny nerdy boy sitting on the edge of the street lost in his sketchbook.", Wonho joked and succeeded to ease Minhyuk a little bit more. 

"So, you didn't eat breakfast today? My brother would kick your ass if he knew! We have enough time left... let's go and grab something to eat for you," Wonho stood up from the sidewalk and pulled Minhyuk up on his feet with one try which made Minhyuk grin over his whole face. He was a little perplexed for a moment because he didn’t think he would just pull him up just like that. Minhyuk put his sketchbook into his backpack and decided to show him a nice silent café a few blocks away from where he loved to go whenever he felt like he needed a quiet place to escape.

They entered the café together and Wonho was overwhelmed. The café was small, but it had such a calming and nice atmosphere which in his opinion felt like a place to feel at home. He loved the feeling that he got from the smell of the fresh coffee beans that filled his nostrils. That’s why he loved café-shops. Small rooms which are never filled with too many people, mostly with people who go there every morning. Faces you get to know from time to time.  
Minhyuk started to order an Americano and a piece of strawberry cake. Wonho for himself didn’t have any appetite since the encounter with Kihyun. He wondered if he should tell Minhyuk about it. „Better not.“, he thought. He didn’t want to waste this beautiful morning on this topic. They both decided to stay inside the café instead to take it away. So, they sat down next to the transparent wall of windows, where they could see the cherry trees which slowly evolved to radiant pink trees. Wonho and Minhyuk were facing each other and Wonho could spot his sketchbook again in Minhyuk`s open black bag. It was slightly open, and he was wondering what he drew before. 

 

"You didn’t tell me that you are into the drawing.", he pointed to Minhyuk's sketchbook. Minhyuk nodded with a smile and took his sketchbook out of his bag. It was so used already that it nearly fell apart when he moved it. 

“Do you want to see some of my drawings?" he asked shyly which Wonho agreed with an assuring nod. 

Minhyuk nervously started from the beginning of the sketchbook and it showed the first steps where he began drawing. Some sketches weren't even finished or looked odd, some pages were just different colors and paints he tried out. But with every page, you could see his progress and the drawings got better and better. They were at the last pages and the pages were mostly filled with still lifes of plants or houses he must have found around this area. Even one drawing of this café which was just lovely.  
The last sketch, which was from today, was one of the lovely cherry blossom trees. The tribe and branches were drawn with the pencil, but the blossoms were in bright pink. 

"I really like the color concept in this one.", said Wonho to Minhyuk, while looking him in the eyes. Minhyuk's eyes sparkled and he smiled shyly. He didn't expect a compliment like that from him. 

"Thank you." Minhyuk mumbled happily, "Maybe I could draw you a better version of it when you like it so much." Wonho nodded and smiled back to Minhyuk. 

“He´s just too adorable”, Wonho thought. After that Minhyuk ate his cake and enjoyed the last sips of his coffee on their way out of the café. Talking about themselves and Minhyuk's passion for art made this morning incredibly beautiful. But this feeling was immediately gone when they saw Kihyun and Changkyun walking on the other side of the street.

Minhyuk didn’t see the boys on the other side until Wonho suddenly stopped walking and he bumped into him. Wonho felt like a déjà vu would hit him but this time he had Minhyuk on his side and not his strong brother, so he had to be more careful. Kihyun didn’t see the boys either because he was focusing on walking but Changkyun spotted them and gave Kihyun a hinting shove into the boy’s direction. When Minhyuk felt the tense reaction of Kihyun and Wonho, he desperately felt the need to grab his hand again, but he resisted. The last thing he wanted was to make their friendship weird.  
Kihyun changed direction and walked towards the boys with a hostile grinning Changkyun on his side. Minhyuk wished that they would have stayed in the coffee shop for one more minute. 

“Hey, lovebirds. Ahh… I see you found your boyfriend after we met this morning.” Kihyun said to Wonho spiteful and then set his eyes on Minhyuk. He walked up dangerously close to see Minhyuk directly in his eyes, “Did you have a nice morning together, huh?” Kihyun spotted the old sketchbook in Minhyuk’s hands and was astonished that Minhyuk still had this ugly thing after all those years. 

“Oh, did you show this brat some of your so-called art? I see.” and grabbed the book out of his hand. 

Wonho was furious about how Kihyun talked with them and how he tried to beat Minhyuk mentally with his dominating behavior. He felt stronger because there weren’t that many people around, so Wonho suddenly shoved his arm between the boys and gave Kihyun a push, so he was forced to step away a bit. Unfortunately, Kihyun already had the book in his hands. He raised both his hands and walked back towards the other side of the street while he and Changkyun looked as if they had the time of their lives. It hurt Wonho to know that this guy had Minhyuk’s book now with all those beautiful sketches in it that he would never appreciate. It made him sad to know that he wouldn’t find Minhyuk lost into that old book anymore now. Wonho was about to run after them and get it back, but Minhyuk laid his hand on his right shoulder and held him back. Wonho also laid his hand on Minhyuk’s which was resting on his shoulder. When he turned around he found the boy in tears, shaking his head gesturing him to don’t go after them.

„I‘m so so sorry,“ Hoseok whispered. Just minutes ago the two had such a nice time together with this book but now it is gone and he felt miserable. He couldn’t even imagine how Minhyuk must be feeling now because during their conversation he felt how important this book was for Minhyuk. 

“Don’t be,” he answered, “It wasn’t even that great and I needed a newer one anyway. Don’t be sorry for something that isn’t your fault.” his voice was just a whisper and Hoseok could nearly feel the sadness in Minhyuk’s words. 

Hoseok didn’t know what to do, so instead, he just grabbed Minhyuk’s hand and squeezed it. Now Wonho was the one who wanted to protect this boy and make him feel better. He just hoped that Minhyuk felt the same way as Hoseok did yesterday evening when he helped him to get out of his situation.  
Minhyuk quickly wiped his tears away, he didn’t want that Hoseok saw him in such a state and especially not with teary eyes. On the one hand, he feared that he saw him as a weak and helpless puppy that can’t defend himself but on the other hand Wonho seemed to be very understandable. He didn’t know him that well, but he will try his best to become a good friend to him. He was fascinated by the way he thinks about the world and wants to spend more nights with him to talk like that. It made him feel comfortable and save. The day before Minhyuk felt more fearless and braver, it seemed as if they changed roles.  
He really didn’t know what kind of feelings he experienced towards him and how he should describe it, but they made him feel good. 

“There isn’t an explanation for everything, right?” he thought as he felt Wonho’s warm hands, he missed this feeling, to be honest, and he already felt better.

Wonho decided to lead the way and get them both out of the alley. He wanted to talk with Minhyuk about other topics that could raise his mood and bring him to a nice place, just like he did. But he remembered that they needed to go to school. Wonho just hoped deeply to not have any classes with Kihyun today.  
The boys didn’t talk while going to school and it also didn’t take long until they arrived because the café wasn’t far away from their school. When they entered the school most of the students were already in their classes, so the hallways were almost empty and quite calm. 

Minhyuk let go of Wonho’s hand, “Which class do you have? Do you know where you need to go?”, he asked.

“I’m alright. I have biology now and a girl already showed me around on my first day but thanks anyway... What class do you have now?”, Wonho answered smiling. Minhyuk sighed which confused Wonho. 

“I have physics now... and that idiot is in my class,” Minhyuk said in an absent way. “Oh man… why is he everywhere? Should I bring you to your classroom?” Wonho said upset. The bell rang to announce that the classes are about to start which scared the boys for one second. “No, it’s alright… the physics and biology classes are on the other side of the school and you’d come too late yours. I think I can somehow manage him.”, the skinny boy assured him with a smile and turned around to go to his class. 

“Hey, we meet later okay?”, Wonho shouted after him while Minhyuk turned around one more time to confirm it.  
When Minhyuk arrived in his class Kihyun wasn’t there, so he quickly went to one of the free tables and unpacked his stuff. As always, the teacher was too late and the class was unbearably noisy. Minhyuk plugged in his earphones and listened to some music to block out his surroundings but after half of the song someone took out the right headphone and said:

“You know your art skills really developed… Your book was really inspiring, especially the one page of the river next to the school, that page inspired me so much I had to bring them together. Such a beautiful combination.” Minhyuk’s heart stopped for a second. “If you didn’t understand what I meant, I threw it in there and just that you know that old thing didn’t even survive until it hit the water, so I did you a favor.” 

“What is your problem?” Minhyuk shouted and everybody in the room was suddenly silent. “You wanna know what my problem is? That boy uhm Hoe-sok was his name? You deserve no friends or whatever you are trying to be for him… you two seem quite attached to each other, so maybe more than friends even?”, Kihyun said aggressively while he pushed Minhyuk off his chair, “He will get sick of you anyway, so why do you even try? Friendship, I have to laugh. I’ll make sure you’ll stay that poor lonely child you always were!”

In the next moment, their teacher came in and everybody pretended as if nothing happened and Minhyuk stood up again. 

“As if you know what friendship and loyalty even mean,” Minhyuk mumbled.

“You two… sit down!” the teacher commanded. Kihyun wanted to go to his table in the back of the classroom but the teacher stopped him.

“No, sit down where you are Mr. Yoo” and pointed to the chair next to Minhyuk’s. 

“But Sir…”, Kihyun wanted to say but the teacher warned him another time, and he sat down.

“You can hurt me, beat me and bully me as much you want but I won’t let you destroy this relationship.”, Minhyuk whispered to his new physics partner. 

The whole physic lesson was very boring but this whole situation made it really tense. Even though Kihyun didn’t say a word for the rest of the lesson, not even when the teacher called him by his name for some physic exercise, Minhyuk couldn’t concentrate that well. It also seemed that Kihyun felt somehow awkward, which didn’t make any sense for Minhyuk since he always had confidence at everything that Kihyun does. Maybe he hit a soft spot, but he doesn’t know what it could be.  
Just before the lesson ends Kihyun mumbled something like “You started this whole thing and you will pay for it.” and packed his things as fast as possible.  
Minhyuk was confused and needed some time to breathe after this weird class, so he went to the cafeteria. The cafeteria was always full of people and when you had a group of friends, you needed to know where your regular seats were. He looked out for Wonho since he wanted to chat with him a little and tell him the whole situation with Kihyun. His gaze was all over the cafeteria and after some seconds he could spot Wonho’s black hair and the leather jacket that he wore but he wasn’t alone. He sat there with some other guys, one had a cap on and seemed really muscular, just like Wonho. 

He was curious so he watched them a bit and Wonho looked like that he had a really good time since he smiled so bright and even laughed a bit. The sound of his laughing was heart-warming and Minhyuk needed to smile as well. He also saw that there was a third person, which seemed to be a friend of Wonho. Minhyuk was confused because Wonho didn’t mention that he already had friends here and he was unsure if he should just join them, so he grabbed the apple that he had in his backpack and wanted to go outside a little bit to get some fresh air. 

But when he went through the hall he could hear someone calling his name.


	3. Moondust

Minhyuk wasn’t used to the sound of his name since nobody really tried to be good friends with him when he came back to the city. He wasn’t sure if it was because everybody had their group of friends already or because most of the other students feared Kihyun and his fellows.  
At home, he almost never heard his name either because his stepfather just called him “kid” as if he was a stray cat that you call “cat” when you can’t decide for a name. And his mom was a nurse, so she wasn't at home that often. It felt weird to hear somebody calling your name that wasn’t your teacher, but it also was nice.

When he glanced up he saw how Wonho and his two friends were waving Minhyuk to join them on their table. He went over and sat on the aisle seat, so could face all of them. 

“Hi, my name is …” he wanted to say until one of the unknown guys interrupted him.

“Minhyuk right? You are the guy I went to kindergarten with. I’m Jung Hoseok from the school’s dance group. You probably can’t remember anymore, right?”, the kind looking boy said all energetic.

He was right and Minhyuk felt a bit ashamed that he couldn’t remember which made him a little shy too.

“Uhm… Sorry, I really can’t remember but it’s nice to meet you again, Hoseok.” Minhyuk answered the boy who was grinning excited and ensured Minhyuk that it wasn’t a big thing with a kind hand gesture.

“And this is my brother Shownu. He came here to manage some organizational ‘parenting’ stuff for me.”, Wonho said and hit his brother soft on the knee.

“Ouch! … Nice to meet you, Minhyuk! I didn’t expect my brother to find friends that fast but my concerns about a clingy brother crying about being lonely are gone now.”, he joked which made Wonho laugh out of embarrassment.

“I never thought he was a whiny person,” Minhyuk had to laugh.

“I still hope you want to stay my friend. I mean I don’t want to compete against the other Hoseok right here. He told me some things about himself in class and I think I couldn’t compete against him.” Wonho said with a little giggle and took a bite of his sandwich.

“No need to worry. I consider you as my friend already,” Minhyuk said softly which almost made Wonho blush.

The boys kept talking and joking around while eating their lunch until Shownu decided to drive back to work because his lunch break was about to end soon and couldn’t risk coming too late. When the boys finished eating they went outside on the campus to catch some fresh air. Hoseok found some friends of his dance group outside and joined them instead.

Wonho and Minhyuk went to the same spot again where they first talked the night of their school’s spring festival and sat on the ground for the last ten minutes of their break. “How was your class? Did something happen with Kihyun? I couldn’t ask earlier because my brother would have probably beat Kihyun up if he knew what’s going on.”, Wonho asked Minhyuk.

“That would have been nice to see, to be honest”, Minhyuk sighed.

“Are you alright?”, Wonho asked concerned.

“You know I tried to stay calm but… but he came to my table and said things about my art book and that he threw into the river. It makes me mad because it was the last thing I got from my father before he left us and now it is destroyed for good.” Minhyuk told Wonho which was listening silently. “And when I asked him about why he is doing all this, he said I started all of this. Even the teacher had to warn him, so he would just shut up but now he’s my physics partner and I hate that.”

“He’s what? Why?” Wonho said surprised.

“I guess the teacher wanted to punish us for interrupting or something,” Minhyuk was annoyed, “I just can’t believe I’m stuck with him now every week.”

“Kihyun’s just the worst. He even said that he will make sure that I’ll stay alone, that I wouldn’t deserve friends or whatever I am trying to be for you’”, Minhyuk gestured with his fingers which let his pullover reveal a dark violet bruise on his left underarm from a few days ago.

“What even? Where did you get this from?” Wonho said loud, clearly concerned and in rage.

Minhyuk was frozen and unable to speak. He didn’t want to talk about it, especially not with Wonho. Minhyuk stared at him and covered his bruise with his pullover sleeve again.

“It’s nothing. Just an accident. I hit my arm on the door last week,” he said in a low voice.

“So, it wasn’t Kihyun or his fellows?“ Wonho said still furious.

“No. I was just clumsy.” Minhyuk answered holding his arm as if somebody could still see the bruise through his sweater.

He looked at him with big eyes and hoped that he would believe him. Minhyuk trusted Wonho, for sure, but he didn’t want him to know yet how twisted his life really was. Hell, he couldn’t even tell his mom about this. He was embarrassed and tried to hide everything that had something to do with it. Minhyuk had to go through this alone because if his mother knew, she would try to do something against it and he didn’t want her to be hurt. And he definitely didn’t want to make it any worse than it is now.

Wonho just looked at Minhyuk with a serious expression and analyzed his actions. He wasn’t sure if he should believe him because the bruise wasn’t small and definitely nothing you would receive by accidentally hitting a door but he didn’t want to argue with him, especially not at school. He could felt that Minhyuk didn’t want to talk about it.

“Okay then please take care of yourself. You’ll murder yourself if you’re not more careful,” he answered with a caring smile. He really wasn’t sure if he should believe him but he swore himself to keep an eye on him from now on.

“Yeah… I mean, my clumsiness isn’t that extreme, I guess.”

Minhyuk’s stern gaze vanished and he smiled again and with that both of them were silent. It was a calm silence between them, just like yesterday when both of them watched the stars. Minhyuk enjoyed that, maybe a bit too much but for him, it seemed as if Wonho enjoyed it as well. When both of them heard the ringing from the bell they grabbed their bags and made themselves on their way to the math’s class since they shared this course.

“One of the most exciting things ever.” Minhyuk moaned annoyed about it. Wonho just chuckled but he wasn’t a fan of maths either.

They entered the room and Wonho must conclude that he couldn’t sit beside Minhyuk, which he somehow hoped. It would make the course more bearable but instead, he chose a seat at the back which was next to a window. The perfect place for some daydreaming.  
The lesson was boring but Wonho still tried to write everything down on his paper although he struggled to focus. He constantly thought about the conflict that Minhyuk and he had with Kihyun and the other guy in front of the cafè. And about how sad Minhyuk’s face was when he realized that his sketchbook would be gone. It was really a shame thinking about it being destroyed because it had a really beautiful art inside. Just thinking about it made him furious again, so he tried to calm himself down with some simple stick figure sketches on the side of his math notes. But he felt the urge to do something. He didn’t know what, but he had the desire to fix it.

Wonho's daydreaming suddenly got interrupted by the sound of the school clock which was announcing the end of today's lessons. The boys knew that this would mean they would probably spend the last few minutes together this week while walking home together. It was Friday and they probably wouldn’t see each other during the weekend. Minhyuk turned around and looked back at Wonho and made a gesture with his fingers to ask Wonho if he wanted to go home together again — the one gesture where you let your fingers walk in the air. Wonho who still didn't pack up his stuff because he was still kind of dazed from his daydreaming nodded.  
He grabbed his books, put them into his back bag and headed out to the hallway where Minhyuk was leaning next to the door waiting for him.

"Mathematics… The most exciting class of all." Minhyuk quoted himself when Wonho joined him.

The two boys took the same route again they chose after the school’s spring festival. Although it meant that Minhyuk had to go back a few blocks he didn't mind because he liked Wonho's company and definitely preferred walking around in town than being at "home". While they were walking they got lost in joking around and talking, so both of them were kind of shocked when they realized that they already arrived at the corner where they had to part.

"What a pity that the week is already over. I like going to school when I have a nice companion I can talk to." Minhyuk said.

"Me too! It felt weird going to school when you know nobody. I'm damn glad that I have you now." Wonho said softly.

"We probably won't see each other until Monday... We'll text alright?" Minhyuk said happily.

"Sure! I'll keep my phone near me... See yah!" Wonho answered the skinny boy with messy hair before he crossed the street and disappeared behind the corner.  
When Wonho came home his brother was already home from work and prepared some food. Minhyuk though kept walking around and explored the town and the parks in the pink blossom.

It's been hours since Wonho came home but he couldn't stop thinking about the sketchbook. Even though Minhyuk said he shouldn’t feel sorry for things he didn’t cause, he still felt like it was his fault that it was gone and that he was responsible. He wanted to forget Minhyuk's teary eyes when that idiot ripped the sketchbook out of his hands. Although Wonho knew it was destroyed and that it was already nightfall he decided to go outside and look for it in the river.

"Maybe I could still rescue something.", he thought.

He took a flashlight with him that he found in a drawer and walked back to the school area and searched for the spot at the river where the other students used to hang around during breaks. He remembered that he forgot to tell Shownu that he left but he, unfortunately, he forgot his phone at home and couldn't contact him. He knew that Shownu would be worried, so he tried to hurry.

It got hard to see a lot because it was already dark but with the flashlamp, he walked a little bit down the riverbank until he spotted the first pages which got stuck at fordable parts of the river. But when he picked them up the drawings on the pages where sadly either blurred by the water or dirty because of the mud. Although he knew they would be destroyed it made him sad to see the pages like that. Looking further he also found the pages with the cherry blossom Minhyuk had drawn on the street this morning. Wonho searched for more pages but couldn’t find any more. He sat next to the river and watched the blurred silhouette of the moon on the water for some minutes to calm himself down a little. He decided that even though they were pretty much destroyed he will still take the pages with him.  
He tried to clean the pages from excessive dirt and decided that he will head to the city center that weekend to find something for Minhyuk that could take the pain away which both of them felt.

It is really a shame that this happened to Minhyuk and that Wonho couldn’t do anything but with this action he could at least try his very best to help and to make him a little happier again. It must have become late, he thought, because the area was totally silent and really lovely like that. No people, no cars – he never experienced the schoolyard like that because it was always noisy. Students were always running, talking and screaming, sometimes even fighting. To see it like that in the shine of the moonlight made this place actually beautiful because it didn’t remind him at school at all.

On his way to home, he observed the cherry blossoms again that was falling down and it really looked magical in this peaceful night. The whole atmosphere was really beautiful and he would love to have Minhyuk at his side right now, he would get really inspired, he thought. When he finally arrived at home Shownu was still awake and not really amused.

“What were you thinking? Where were you at his time without telling me?” he asked him with a stern concerned look on his face.

His brother was never that type of human that would get angry or scream, but he will worry much about the people that he loved, which now was the case. Wonho didn’t know how to answer that, he couldn't tell his brother that he searched for some old sketchbook sites because a bully from school turned the life of his friend into hell. He would get way too protective and would like to know who this guy is, so he couldn’t tell him that. Wonho just looked at him with big eyes.

“I just.. I just wanted to go out and get a clear head, you know?”, he knew it didn’t sound convincing at all but that was the first thing that came to his mind.

“For nearly two hours? Are you feeling worse again? I can’t go through this again that you just suddenly disappear. I thought we got over this.” Shownu asked concerned.

Wonho felt how sorrowful and scared his brother must have been and he felt sorry for not telling him. It wasn’t the first time that Wonho just disappeared. It became a habit of him every time his mental health got worse to just leave and be gone for some time. Sometimes when people put too much pressure on him or when he put too much pressure on himself he would just disappear. At a certain state, it became so bad that Shownu decided for both of them to leave their home and move away. When Wonho realized that Shownu thought his mental health got worse again and that he ran away again he felt even more sorry.

“No. It’s not like that, believe me. I just wanted to see the Cherry Blossoms again. I actually wanted to go home sooner but the area was really pretty because everything was so silent and the atmosphere was great. I even wanted to call you but I forgot my phone. You can trust me, it wasn’t like that. I’m fine. I found friends and even a really good one. I’m sorry, I didn’t want to scare you.”

Shownu’s gaze was still pretty stern but got soft after some moments.

“I trust you. Just don’t forget to tell me next time okay? And if you feel worse again you know you can tell me,” Shownu said and hugged his little brother.

“Yeah, I know. Thank you, I really appreciate that.”

“I’ll go to bed now. I’m quite done.” Shownu said and let Wonho go into his room.

“Good night. Sorry again.”

He took the nearly dried pages out of his backpack and thought about where to put them. And then he got a brilliant idea that he could use some cord and hang it up, so the pages could dry completely. He took some tape and stuck the cord from the right side to the left side of his room. After that, he got some clamps and cramped the sides on the cord so that they could dry without sticking together. Wonho was proud of this idea, but after that, he was totally exhausted and without any further do, he also went to sleep because he had some plans for tomorrow as well. He laid down, closed his eyes and immediately drifted off to sleep.

When Wonho woke up the next morning, he rubbed his sleepy eyes and stood up. He was still a little bit exhausted from yesterday but he had plans to fulfill and it was his first priority to do that. He made his way to the bath, showered, brushed his teeth and dressed into a loose sweater and some slim jeans.  
After he finished his morning routine he went in the kitchen where he found a small note from Shownu on the fridge which said: “I did my morning run without you because you seem to need the sleep! I won’t be back until 4 pm… have a good day!.”

He made himself a small breakfast and checked if Minhyuk’s drawings were dry. He carefully took them off and put them into a folder, so he could carry them safely in his backpack. When he realized how late it was he rushed out to the next bus station and caught the bus in the last minute. He was relieved that the bus wasn’t too full, so he was able to sit on his favorite seat and enjoy the ride to the city. He took his earphones out to play his favorite playlist and searched for an art store. On the ride to the city center, he began to think about the last few days and how much actually happened. Regardless of the encounter with Kihyun, he was very happy to have Minhyuk as a friend and even though they barely know each other, he has the feeling that he can trust him and that he would be by his side when he would need him to overcome hard times. Wonho shook his head, he didn’t want to think about these times, especially now.

After some stations, he noticed that he was close to the one where he had to get out. He stood up and waited for the bus to stop as he suddenly spots Kihyun who waited for the bus outside. He somehow looked really tired and exhausted too. His hair wasn’t styled so his bangs were just falling down into his face and his mouth was covered by his scarf. Wonho never had imagined that he would see him in such a state because it always seemed as if Kihyun would ever leave the house like that. But without overthinking it too much Wonho left the bus because the last thing he wanted was trouble with Kihyun.

He looked at the map on his phone to find the shop that he wanted to visit and after some minutes of walking around, he finally found the shop. It was an art supplier shop where you could get anything an artist could possibly need. From pencils to watercolor, from coal to chalk color or just some high-quality paper, you could find everything there. The shop was huge and Wonho would spend way too much time in there if he would draw too. “Maybe I should go with Minhyuk to this shop.” he thought and smiled to himself. Minhyuk would freak out if he could see how beautiful this shop was. Wonho searched for an employee that could help him to find a good new sketchbook for him. Actually, not for him but for Minhyuk. The employee showed him various kinds of sketchbooks and told him everything about it.

“I just need a sketchbook where you can draw good with watercolor and pencil. Sorry, it’s for a friend, I don’t know much about drawing,” he told the staff and smiled awkwardly.

“Ahh, I see! If it’s a present then I would recommend you that sketchbook.”, the staff answered and showed him a sketchbook which had a spine out of dark blue velvet. It really felt like it was high quality and the paper between his fingers felt amazing too. The best thing about it was its little starry ornaments on the cover which reminded him of their first conversation. It was perfect and even though he didn't know a lot about art supplies, he was already in love with this book and he couldn’t wait to see how Minhyuk would sketch and draw his beautiful ideas in it.

“Yeah, that’s the sketchbook that I want to buy for Minhyuk!”, he thought. He thanked the staff and took the book to the cash desk just to find out that this sketchbook was actually out of his price range but he decided to get it anyway.

On his way home he wrote Minhyuk if would have time to meet him because he was way too excited to wait until he could see Minhyuk’s reaction. Wonho didn’t want to text him that he bought a new sketchbook for him, so he lied a little.

< Hey! How was your day Could we maybe meet up in an hour or so? I have something VERY important to say! >

< Sure! Should I be scared? >

< No, don’t worry. See you at the corner :) >

Before Wonho could meet up Minhyuk, he needed to put the drawings from yesterday into the sketchbook, which he did. Wonho smiled broadly on his way to their beloved corner, where he could already see Minhyuk, who was a little confused seeing Wonho so excited.

“You seem so happy today… Is there a special occasion for your big smile?”, Minhyuk asked confused and had to laugh when Wonho made a playful grimace to tease him.

“Oh, come on what is going on?”, Minhyuk giggled.

“You’ll have to be a little patient! Do you want to grab a coffee?”, Wonho said without being able to hide his excitement.

“Yeah, sure! I just have to be home before 8 pm.”, Minhyuk answered.

When the boys arrived at the cafe Wonho was amazed again about how inviting and appealing it looked with the big windows and the flower décor outside and inside. It looked different in the late afternoon because the bigger houses wouldn’t let in any sun inside the room in the morning. Now the shop is flooded with the light of the evening sun. When the boys entered the cafè it was almost empty because it was already 6.30 pm and the shop would close at 7 pm.

“Don’t worry I know the owner! I come here every week since I moved back to town. He allows me to stay longer even though they are already closing.”, Minhyuk said when Wonho stopped at the entrance to look for the closing times.

The boys chose a sitting booth where some ivy was hanging down from a lamp above the table whose shadow created a lovely pattern on the old wooden table. When the elder waiter, who seemed to be the previously mentioned owner, came to their table he already knew what Minhyuk would order, so he just asked Wonho.

“So, what would your friend like to order?”, the kind man asked while he put two glasses and a carafe of water on the table which was filled with some mineral crystals. Wonho was amused by that.

“I’ll take the same as he does.”, Wonho replied with a big smile.

With that, the waiter went away and prepared their order which didn’t take long. He brought the boys two americanos and a plate with cookies for free because they would have been thrown away anyway. The boys enjoyed their coffee and cookies while Minhyuk started to tell some stories he overheard while he spent his time in the café.

Once a woman told about her cat, which had run away after they had moved here in the town. Minhyuk found it fascinating when the woman said that the new owner of her old house called her days later because the cat had somehow managed to find her way back to the house which was kilometers away from their new house. What Minhyuk didn’t tell Wonho was that he also felt somehow connected to the cat because when his mom and he had to leave the town after his dad had left them, everything he wanted was to go back home and live the life he enjoyed so much – back to the time where he still felt like had a family.  
After some time listening to Minhyuk’s stories about the cafè, Wonho couldn’t wait anymore to give Minhyuk his surprise.

“So, I guess you want to know why I wanted to see you, right?”, Wonho gained the attention of the boy who took a bite of another cookie.

“Well, I although you said I shouldn’t, I still felt sorry for what happened yesterday morning after we left the café. When you told me that he destroyed it I was mad because I loved the little sketches you showed me. I also saw how important it was to you when that idiot, Kihyun, took it away and you started to tear up.”, Wonho said. He looked down before he continued.

“I couldn’t sleep last night because of that. So, I went to the river last night and looked for it but I could only find some pages.”

He bent down to take out the pages of the destroyed sketchbook which he dried overnight and handed them over to Minhyuk who still remained silent.

“And when I sat there at the riverside I wanted to get you something to cheer you up. It took me quite some time to find the right one and I needed a little bit of help but I hope you like it.”, Wonho said while he bent down and handed Minhyuk the new sketchbook.

Minhyuk couldn’t talk because he was near the tears. He wasn’t used to so much honesty and especially not to receive so much empathy and love from anyone. He couldn’t believe that a person he knew for only two days could be so kind. He looked at the backside of the book and stroke over the velvety spine. When he turned it around there was a small silver engraving which said “Moondust” which was surrounded by three tiny stars. “Moondust”, Minhyuk whispered while he was tracing the engraving with his thumb.

“I… I don’t know why I deserve this and I don’t understand why you would ever feel guilty for what happened yesterday but… Thank you”, Minhyuk said with a thin voice because he was struggling not to cry. “Honestly, thank you… you have no idea how much this means to me.”, Minhyuk added, finally able to look Wonho in the eyes.

Wonho, who also had teary eyes because of Minhyuk’s reaction, laid his hand on Minhyuk’s. “Let’s not be so dramatic, okay? I prefer smiling Minhyuk-ah!”, Wonho said which made both of them laugh and smile again.

The owner of the shop came to their booth to tell them that he’s about to close the shop in a few minutes because it was almost 8 pm and he had to leave. The boys paid their bills and thanked the kind old man for letting them stay longer and walked down the street until they arrived at their point to part.  
Minhyuk who still couldn’t believe how nice Wonho was treating him stepped forward to give Wonho a tight hug. Surprised by the sudden hug Wonho started to softly pet the skinny boy’s head with a big smile on his face.

“I expect to see some sketches soon, okay?”, Wonho whispered while his chin was resting on the slightly taller boy’s shoulder. Minhyuk started to grin which Wonho felt on his neck when Minhyuk’s cheeks moved.

Both boys loosened their hug and went home.

 

To be continued ...


	4. Stone

Even though he won't get over the old one because it was the last present he had from his father before he disappeared, Minhyuk was overwhelmed by Wonho's kind gesture and couldn't wait to draw something into his new sketchbook as soon as he would come home. But when he turned around the corner the sight of the old Chevy pickup truck, his stepfather was so proud of, hit the boy like an arrow in the chest.

Although he planned to be back at 8 pm his stepfather was already home and Minhyuk felt that sick taste in his mouth when he just thought about going in there to confront him on a Saturday evening. Saturdays are the days when he meets up with his pals and they play cards, get drunk and do whatever else they usually do. He was unpleasantly surprised that his stepfather was already home because he usually didn't tend to be back before 10.30 pm.

Normally, Minhyuk would stay at home on Saturday evenings to lock himself inside his room, so he could avoid his stepfather when he came home, and won't accidentally bump into him in this condition.

But sometimes it still happens that they would cross ways when Minhyuk was unprepared. Like when his stepfather came home drunk during the week when he already started to drink before the day even started or like now.

Minhyuk became good in being silent, to hide the truth and to hide the bruises and injuries. "I fell down the stairs. I didn't watch my steps," he told the nurse once when his stepfather broke his arm by slamming the door while his arm was still in between. "I played baseball with my cousin and the ball hit me," he once lied to his teacher when he came to class with a black eye. The other students even made fun of him back then because he tried to cover the black eye with makeup, not knowing what was really going on.

On the one hand Minhyuk somehow was glad that people believed him, so the whole situation wouldn't become worse but on the other hand, he also wished that someone wouldn't believe him and that somebody would finally see what's really going on behind those walls. Those walls which he once at least tried to call home. Minhyuk wondered if his mom would ever realize how his stepfather treated him but as a nurse, she mostly wasn't at home and if she was she mostly slept or went out with her own friends.

It hurt Minhyuk to know that his mother didn't notice how abusive the guy she loved and married treated her own son. But otherwise, it maybe would just become worse when she tried to stop him. From that point of view, Minhyuk was glad that she couldn't interfere. He was afraid of what could happen to her if she would try to protect him somehow.

Minhyuk took a deep breath and tried to open the door as silently as possible but when he closed the door his stepfather already commanded him into the kitchen where he sat on the counter with a bottle of beer. Minhyuk already knew what will come and he absolutely didn't want to let this happen. His day was so beautiful and great, he really just wanted to disappear into his room and let it end but he knew couldn't. That's why he silently obeyed his stepfather and stepped into the kitchen.

He saw him on the counter and saw in the corner of his eye several empty cans and bottles lying next to the kitchen sink. The other guys must have been here today, and it simply showed that his stepfather already drank way too much. Minhyuk had to be careful around him. Not that he already wasn't careful but now more than ever because Wonho already asked about the bruise and if he would get another one he would get curious again.

His stepfather watched Minhyuk with his heavy eye bags and half-closed eyes when he saw how Minhyuk tried to cover and hide the back bag behind him. "Watcha got behind your back, son?"

Son. He felt sick every time he called him like they were related or as if he had any rights to see him as his own child. His stepfather always emphasized this word in such a disgusting way that Minhyuk always gets a dull feeling in his stomach. But the fact that he wanted to see what was in his back bag made it worse. He should have left it in the corridor.

"Nothing, just my bag... just school stuff to study," Minhyuk mumbled.

"Show me!" his stepfather demanded.

He stretched his hand out for it and almost caused his current bottle to fall off the counter. His dominant behavior towards nearly everything made it hard to hide things from him and that was the problem. He clearly couldn't stand the fact that his "family" could have any secrets. He didn't trust Minhyuk as if he was the worst child even though he never did anything wrong. So, even though he wasn't entitled to check on his property like that he kept sniffling around to find anything which was bad. And if he didn't find something which seemed bad in his eyes, he interpreted it like it was bad. It wasn't always like that but for the last few years, he had no privacy, no rights and no calm nights.

Minhyuk didn't know what he should do, so he just handed him his bag in hope that he won't question anything and that he would just tell him some unpleasing insults, so he could go in his room. That's the mildest confrontation that he was seeking for and even if that means to just stay silent. He just wanted to let this beautiful day end without any drama.

His stepfather grabbed into the bag, rummaged around and took out the beloved sketchbook with his disgusting, dirty fingers. He looked at it, turned it around a bit.

"Did you steal it or something?" he asked.

"No, of course, I didn't steal it," Minhyuk answered immediately.

"This looks too expensive and you always had this scruffy book with you. You can't tell me that you bought it off with your little pocket money!" he screamed.

"I didn't steal it," Minhyuk repeated himself.

Minhyuk was perplexed. That he was implying him to steal anything is really something that he hadn't expected. He must be staring at him for some seconds too long because his stepfather did a rather unpleasant sound which was similar to a grunt.

"It was a gift from a friend," Minhyuk explained unsure of how this situation will develope.

His stepfather still had the sketchbook in his hands and Minhyuk got nervous. He just wanted it back and wanted to go into his room.

"Friend? You have friends? What kind of friend would gift you this?" he asked nosey.

Minhyuk didn't know what to say because he knew that he never had friends over or went out to meet people. He was always nosey about this kind of things, probably because he was scared of what Minhyuk could tell them if he found friends. He knew Wonho just for a few days and he already got curious because of the bruise.

"It's a friend from school. He is new here, so I thought we could become friends." He regretted it immediately.

"So, it's a male friend? Who makes you such presents?" He said while crooking one eyebrow. "You know that this is really weird," he laughed, "especially when you don't know each other that long." he continued in a depraved and disgusting way.

He should have just said that it was a school friend, not more. Minhyuk didn't know what he should think about this, what his stepfather wanted to archive.

Suddenly, his stepfather stood up. "Fuck." Minhyuk thought when he saw how red his stepfathers face turned. He went around the counter and grabbed Minhyuk's neck with his right hand to bent him down while he forced Minhyuk to stare at the sketchbook he held in front of his face. He pulled his head near to his mouth and whispered aggressively into his ear.

"I just really hope that you aren't a fucking twink. What a shame would that be for our family? Think about what your mother would say about it. Not only being together with your father for too long, a man who was useless before she met me, but also finding out that her only son is gay." He pressed his hand tighter before he loosened his grip and gave Minhyuk a push, so he would stumble forwards and hit the counter. His stepfather put the sketchbook on the table and sat down on the sofa just to open up another can of beer.

"Go to your room!" was the last thing that he said.

Minhyuk stood up, took his book and other things from the counter as fast as possible and disappeared into his room. After he closed the door, he pressed himself against it and tried not to scream. Leaning there with his hands pressed over his mouth, he started to panic. His heartbeat was extremely fast, his breath became quicker and he started to shake with his whole body. He had to stay silent. He wanted to scream and let it all out but he couldn't. Even though it was uncomfortable he just stayed on the floor and cried in silence, looking at the sketchbook which was in front of him.

What just happened was one of his biggest fears. He knew since his early days that he was different from others when it came to that aspect, but he always tried to suppress it. Maybe it was just a phase or when he finds the right girl then it will change eventually. But that never happened and didn't seem like it will. With Wonho everything seemed so easy. Everything was so beautiful. He was so beautiful. And he cared...

"No, I should stop thinking about it. I should sleep. Now." he thought, put his sketchbook on the bookshelf where he put all his precious things just as some stones that he once collected together with his Dad when they were at the sea. He wondered if his father would have understood when he ever told him the truth about his sexuality, but he probably will never know.

Every time he looked at the stones he remembered the precious moments when the time seemed so carefree. No worries, no pain, and no insults. At those times, he couldn't even imagine that his parents weren't in love anymore and that his dad would leave them. So, everything he connected with those stones was joy and happiness. That's also a reason why he wanted to visit the sea again, just to feel those feelings again and to remember his life before he and his mother were alone.

After standing in front of his shelve staring at the stones and the sketchbook for minutes he changed into his pajamas and laid down on his bed. This day was so eventful that he kept overthinking everything and couldn't stop his eyes from tearing up.

Aside from this fear his stepfather started in him, he couldn't help but think about Wonho. Minhyuk decided that he needed to find a way to thank Wonho. He couldn't just accept it. He needed to give something back and with this, he could finally fall asleep.

It was Sunday and just as every year in spring, the weather turned colder again for some days. The blue sky turned wintery grey again and because of the heavy rain together with the cold gusting wind, there was a sea of cherry blossoms on the streets. Wonho woke up because the branches of the tree in front of the building and the rain kept knocking on his window. With sleepy eyes, he looked at the still blurry trees and how the wind bowed them in all directions. He slowly stood up and wrapped a light blue cozy blanket over him to keep himself warm while getting ready. After taking a shower and brushing his teeth he prepared breakfast for him and his brother.

It was way too early, so this time it was his turn to wake up Shownu which was almost never the case. However, he went over to his brother's room and had to laugh because when he opened the door he found Shownu wrapped in his blanket on the floor, looking at him with confused eyes. As it seemed he must have fallen out of the bed during the night. With painful noises and grunts, Shownu tried to stand up.

"What did you dream to get down there? Did you search for your sanity or something?" Wonho joked while he was still laughing about this hilarious sight.

Wonho helped him up with a little push and gave him his own blanket because it was already warm.

"Come on, I prepared some breakfast!" Wonho said.

"Wait... You?You prepared something? You must have had a motivating dream." Shownu said amazed by seeing his little brother being productive in the household for once. But, Wonho actually dreamed nothing at all or at least he couldn't remember, which was a welcome exception for him after so many months with nightmares and sleepless nights.

The two brothers enjoyed their breakfast and talked about how they could forget their daily workout routine because of this awful weather. If they would go for a run today they would get soaked and as a result, would probably catch a cold for sure. Shownu hated rainy days and it made him quite furious that he would have to spend his free day inside the apartment. Just sitting around and being locked up inside, only able to play games or watch shows was not how he liked to spend his weekends.

"We spent too much time in our house last year... I want to enjoy this year's season and I won't stay inside looking outside the window like a housecat whining for freedom. If the weather stays like that I'll go insane. Let's drive down to the coast next weekend." Shownu said annoyed while he was looking through the TV program.

"Oh, uhm that would be great! Can I bring a friend with me?" Wonho asked shyly while playing with his scrambled eggs.

"Sure... I don't mind. I'm glad you found friends!" Shownu said to his little brother who was still just shoving his breakfast from one side of the plate to the other.

But the thought about the coast made him smile because he's never been at the sea and he would enjoy it a lot if he could spend some time with Shownu and Minhyuk. He wondered if they would get along when they have to spend more time together, but he was sure that Shownu would do anything to see his little brother happy again after last year, so he wouldn't do anything that would hurt him or his friends.

"Well, let's start this super exciting day, shall we?" Shownu said in a sarcastic way and jumped over to the couch to turn on the PlayStation.  
Before Wonho would follow, he ran into his room to get his phone and text Minhyuk the exciting news.

< Heyy Minhyuk-ah! My brother and I will make a trip to the coast next week. Do you wanna join? Camping would be boring alone without you, Vitamin. ;) >

After sending it he ran to the living room, jumped on the couch and challenged his brother in Overwatch.

Minhyuk was still sleeping when his phone rang. Rather confused and dazed he looked on the way too bright screen which caused a little sting in his eyes. After rubbing them with his fists he could finally see the message on the lock screen. "Wonho!" he read and immediately started to grin.

He opened the message and was extremely excited about the invitation because he wanted to go to the coast again for ages and after last night the thought of being away for some days was relieving. It would be great to revive those old beautiful memories of the sea and to make new even more beautiful ones with Wonho. His heart started to beat out of excitement, but the thought of his mom and especially his stepfather made him a little anxious. If Minhyuk agreed to the invitation he would have to fear about what could happen afterward when he would find out with who he went.

Sure, he could ask his mom and she would allow it in one second but Minhyuk knew that his stepdad would just wait for it that both of them were alone. Minhyuk wasn't sure if he should risk it. If he should just say yes and disappear for the weekend.

"I could leave mom a letter at work. It's just one weekend. One weekend without him, without this drama and pain. So, fuck that." Minhyuk thought.

< Hii I'd love to join if your brother is okay with that! :) > Minhyuk replied without further overthinking.

When Wonho's phone rang he was shaking for a moment and he lost the game against his brother because they were in the middle of a fight.

"What a game... How sad that you lost!" Shownu said triumphantly right into Wonho's face.

Wonho was a bad loser, so he tried to remain silent and just rolled his eyes.

< Ahh great! No, he doesn't mind at all. It will be so much fun! > Wonho replied with a big grin which turned into a big smile when he saw the dots which meant that Minhyuk was already replying again.

< There is just one problem. I don't have a tent or something because I've never been camping before. > he texted.

< YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN CAMPING?! Okay... no problem. We have two, so you can sleep in mine, it's big enough for two. > Wonho replied.

The days flew by and the bad weather made the excitement for the trip bigger and bigger. When it was finally Friday the weather brightened a bit and the rain stopped which was good because Shownu's truck only had two front seats and a truck bed, where Minhyuk will have to stay during their drive down to the coast. When the weather wouldn't have brightened up the ride would have been really uncomfortable.

Minhyuk would meet at their corner again where Shownu and Wonho would pick him up. That's why Minhyuk already packed all the stuff he needed for the trip and took it with him to school. Even though he still had two hours until they meet up, he still had to somehow bring the letter to his mom's work.

"Hey, Mom,

Sorry that I couldn't tell you otherwise, but you don't have your phone with you at  
work. I know it is rather spontaneous, but I'll make a trip to the coast with some  
friends over the weekend!  
I'll be back on Sunday...There is no need to worry. I love you!

Love,

Minhyuk."

After Minhyuk brought the letter to the hospital's post office, he immediately headed to their corner and waited about ten minutes sitting on the pavement until Shownu and Wonho turned into the street. Relieved about the fact that he will really escape for some days, he threw his back bag on the back of the truck where Wonho, who turned around from the front, greeted him with his warmhearted and comforting smile.

 

To be continued...


	5. A Little Escape

"Hey! Thank you for the invitation!" Minhyuk said, leaning against the open window on the driver's side where Shownu greeted him cheerfully. "I'm glad that you can come with us!" Shownu answered and gestured him to jump onto the back of his truck.

Wonho's eyes followed Minhyuk until he disappeared behind the truck and lost sight of him. He softly bit his lip and grabbed his bag.

"You know what? If you don't mind I'll stay on the back with him. I mean I would feel bad if Minhyuk had to stay alone outside."

"And let me drive all alone without the possibility to talk with you?" Shownu answered with a fake pout but smiled immediately afterward.

"But please be careful, okay? And use the blankets, it would still be a little cold without them."

Wonho nodded with a big thankful smile, hugged him and walked around the car to the back of the truck where Minhyuk struggled to open the tailgate.

"We brought all our pillows and blankets, so we don't get too cold out here," Wonho said, helped him open the tailgate jumped on the loading area of the truck.

Minhyuk hesitated a moment before he said something.

"Wait, you'll stay outside here too?" Minhyuk said surprised.

"Did you think I'd leave you alone out here? What of a host would I be if I did?" Wonho laughed about Minhyuk's reaction.

He smiled broadly at Minhyuk who still struggled to jump on the truck. So, Wonho offered him his hand to help him up onto the car. With one push Minhyuk managed to get up. The boys arranged some of the pillows and covered themselves with the blankets to stay warm during the ride. Wonho couldn't hide his happiness because he was incredibly thankful that everything worked out and that he was able to spend a great weekend with his friend and his brother. It's been so long since there was something he could be genuinely excited for.

"I'm really happy that I could join you two," Minhyuk answered him overly excited.

"It was a great idea, wasn't it?" Shownu who turned around to face them asked, well knowing the answer to his question. "I mean, the weather got better again, and it stopped raining! It will be a great weekend," he added proudly while the two boys on the back had to laugh because of the gesture he made to the sky as if it would have fooled him.

"Also, I'm really relieved to see Wonho feeling better and happier again. This trip will be good for you." Shownu looked back through the front mirror to catch Wonho's eye.

"I actually planned this trip for a while now because I wanted to give you something to remember when things don't go the way they should, you know? I want to change things and be a better brother from now on. And that's why I think it was a great idea to invite Minhyuk to this trip too." he said and switched to Minhyuk's eyes. Wonho stared at Shownu, giving him a look to stop because he didn't want Minhyuk to know about this time of his life. Not yet at least.

"That's really kind of you.", Minhyuk said to Shownu softly. It was heartwarming how caring Wonho's brother seemed to be. He wished he had someone in his family like that as well, somebody who would look after him, somebody who would just care about him. But Minhyuk wanted to forget everything that would give him any sorrow for this weekend so that he could fully enjoy it and banished the thought immediately.

Even though Shownu's words made him curious about what he actually meant by saying that he wanted to be a better brother and that he was happy that Wonho's condition got better, he didn't want to dig in further. He somehow felt by Wonho's reaction that he didn't want to talk about it. Just as much as Minhyuk didn't want to tell him where the bruise on his arm was from.

After everybody was ready Shownu started the engine and drove into their little adventure down to the coast. The two of them talked a bit alone because Shownu couldn't really hear them anymore after he turned on the radio and the driving wind set in. Minhyuk wondered if he turned it on to give them some privacy or if he just wanted to listen to some music.

"I didn't think about bringing blankets or pillows but at least I brought some... Snacks!" Minhyuk said proud of himself and handed Wonho a package of chips and a box of cookies.

"Oh my... PRIORITIES, you saved the whole trip.!" Wonho cheered.

"Sweet or Salty?" Minhyuk asked waving the two packages in front of Wonho's face.

"Uhm... Sweet like you." Wonho joked which made Minhyuk blush.

Minhyuk opened the cookies, fed Wonho with one of them and took one for himself.

After some time talking about their favorite snacks and other random topics they just leaned against the rear window and shared a comfortable silence. The sky slowly changed from a greyish blue to a pleasant pink to a rich orange. In the background, the car radio was playing quietly. Minhyuk didn't know most of the songs but he enjoyed them. It must have been a playlist Wonho or Shownu prepared because it definitely wasn't from a radio station.

The sky turned darker and darker but it didn't bother Minhyuk that they couldn't enjoy the sun on the beach that day anymore because when the clouds allowed it he could see the moon from time to time and he really enjoyed the view. It felt somehow magical driving down the coast when the moon's light reflected in the water and although the wind was pretty loud and the car radio was playing he could still hear the waves from afar.

"Have you visited the coast before?" Wonho asked looking over to the water.

"Yeah, I was here once with my family when I was younger. Actually, we always wanted to come back... well, actually I wanted to come back. But we never had the opportunity. So, I know I said it earlier but I'm really happy that you invited me." Minhyuk answered.

"Me too." Wonho paused. "But why didn't you come back here earlier when you wished to come back?" he said carefully.

"When my dad left we never thought about it again and since we left town for some years we never really had the chance." He said without sounding too sad about it.

"I'm really sorry about that. You know I never mentioned it before but it was a tough decision too when we left our home a couple of months ago. What made you come back here in town?" Wonho asked curiously while watching Minhyuk's fingers trace the hem of his blanket. He suddenly felt the desperate urge to hold his hand and caress it, but he somehow resisted and took another cookie instead.

"My mom still had contact with one of her old school friends who lived here in town. She went out often to meet up with friends and one day she suddenly told me that she will marry again and that we can go back home. I didn't know the guy since then and suddenly he was part of the family, but..." Minhyuk stopped to rethink what he would say next.

"...but to be honest I don't know if we should have returned here. I know this will sound a little naive, but we were happier alone and I think she did it for me because she thought I was happier here because I had my old friends. I mean I should be happy for her because it must be hard being single with 40, but I don't think she knows how much I hate this guy and how much he made me hate this town." Minhyuk's heart began to race and he felt how his cheeks started to burn.

He never talked about anything that was related to his dad or his mom and definitely not related to his stepfather. Nobody was ever interested in how his life looked like behind those walls and he somehow got used to secrets. But somehow Wonho managed to make him open up. Even though it were just small steps, every word that escaped his mouth scared him, but with every little word he felt how the pressure of keeping everything a secret for years slowly let go off his shoulders.

"It doesn't sound naive," Wonho said softly, scanning Minhyuk's face.

"You know when we first came here, I was so scared," Wonho said.

"Not because of the city or the fact that I knew nobody. We were totally on our own because our parents kind of kicked us out or better said... they kicked me out. Shownu just stood up for me and got caught in the crossfire. That night he said I should pack my stuff and we left. It was quite a tough time but my brother had friends here and they got him his job and a place to sleep until we found an apartment."

Minhyuk was shocked because he knew he was mysterious but after his story, he became even more curious about what happened to him and why somebody would kick out their own sons.

"I guess we both have our package to carry right?" Minhyuk said and hit Wonho's shoulder which brought back a Wonho's smile.

Although the topic was kind of sad they still felt happiness in their chests because neither of them ever really talked about the topics they've just shared with other people. Wonho leaned his head against Minhyuk's shoulder and Minhyuk his head against Wonho's.

"You know... I said it before but I'm really that I 'saved' you from Kihyun that day." Minhyuk gestured the quotation mark with his right hand and laughed because of how surreal it sounded.

"Oh man, yeah me too!"

Wonho joined Minhyuk's laughing and hid his face in his blanket.

"I don't like crowded places that much. Especially on occasions where people expect me to act in certain behavior. Sometimes it's nice to go to parties or events but when you feel like you're out of place then you start to get uneasy and uncomfortable really fast." Wonho mumbled from under the blanket.

"I feel you but just remember when it happens again I'll be by your side and just drag you out. If you want or not!" Minhyuk said joyfully.

He pulled the blanket down from Wonho's face and ruffled through his hair because the blanket destroyed his hair a little bit. Now Wonho was the one who was blushing.

He really liked seeing Minhyuk happy especially because he mostly seemed like he's absorbed in his thoughts – not really sad, but not happy either. But otherwise, he could be so joyful, loud and energetic that it makes his heart flutter seeing him. During this little trip, he really wanted to have a great time with him and to make nice memories together.

Both of them were just sitting in the back, watching the clouds which were covering the moon from time to time and enjoyed the music that came from the driver's cabin. After some time Shownu drove off the highway and stopped at a camping place near the sea. Minhyuk was so excited when he saw how near the sea was to the camping place and how fresh the air at the coast was. He just closed his eyes for some seconds just to enjoy the sound of the waves.

They jumped out of the truck and unpacked the camping equipment while the car radio continued to play their calming indie playlist. Shownu and Wonho started to set up the tents and tried to somehow include Minhyuk into the progress by guiding him step by step. But it still mostly ended up that Shownu helped him because Minhyuk really had no clue what he was doing.

"Okay, now you need to take the poles out and connect them, so the tent won't collapse," Shownu said to Minhyuk with teary eyes from all the laughing.

Minhyuk opened the case with the poles and when he struggled a bit to connect them Wonho joined to help him and gave him soft encouraging hits on his shoulder when they finished the poles. Together all three connected the tent with the poles and fixed them firmly to the ground. It took around 30 minutes until they managed to set up both tents because they were fooling around with each other so much.

After that, they took their box of food, collected some wood for a bonfire and went down to the beach where they piled up the wood and set it on fire. Wonho and Shownu brought some steaks, sausages, and marshmallows that they could eat for dinner.

When they finishing eating, Wonho and Shownu ended up fighting over the last marshmallow which at the end fell on the ground and left all of them crying from laughing when Wonho was whining after it.

"This is it what family should look like." Minhyuk thought and simply enjoyed the moment.

Minhyuk laid his head on Wonho's shoulder because he was a bit exhausted from the exciting day. Everything just felt so easy and he really felt like they were a little family. If surprised himself because he never felt this comfortable around people he hardly knew.

He felt how his eyes got more and more tired, so he closed his eyes to fully enjoy the calming atmosphere and the warmth of the fireplace. He could feel how Wonho slowly wrapped his right arm around his waist to steady him.

"Are you tired?" Wonho said softly as if he could scare him away like an angsty kitty if he would talk too loud.

"No, I'm just a little exhausted from the journey." Minhyuk said a little dazed and laid his head on Wonho's shoulder.

Wonho squeezed him a little which made him feel save even more. They stayed like that for a few moments which didn't feel like a long time, but it was long enough that Minhyuk didn't notice that Shownu let both of them alone, mumbling something that he was really tired and too old to actually make the night through. Which of course was a little lie because he wasn't that much older than the boys.

Wonho carefully leaned to the side to sneak Shownu's blanket with him and to cover them both, him and Minhyuk with it without waking Minhyuk up who drifted off to sleep for a few moments. It wasn't necessary because it didn't seem like either of them were cold, but Wonho liked it to get closer with Minhyuk.

The silence between them was comfortable and remembered Minhyuk back to the night where he and Wonho were at the school backyard and just stared at the night sky together, just that this time they watched how the flamed of the fireplace danced to the sound of the waves. When Minhyuk managed to be more awake again he remembered their very first talk and although he didn't want to disturb the calming silence between them he started talking anyway.

„Do you remember our first talk back then at the spring feast?" He waited until Wonho agrees with a soft humming sound.

„You asked me if I'm happy with my life. If I feel like that although people hear my voice, they don't actually listen to what I want to say because they don't care anyway. To be really honest, I didn't say anything because the truth was, that nobody cared. Nobody cared about me and I was not satisfied with my life, I was just existing and waiting for it to change, that something would happen so that I could be happy."

He shifted his position a little so that he could look in Wonho's direction without fully looking into his eyes because it would just distract him way too much to continue.

„I kept thinking about the question a lot since then but every time I thought about it, the question didn't feel as sad as the first time when you asked it." He smiled a bit after saying that.

„Because that night you became my friend and you finally gave me what I was missing. A friend that really cares and not even just that. You gave me a break from everything at home and gave me the feeling of finally having a family that accepts me for who I am and I'm so thankful for that." The last part was nearly just a whisper because it was still hard to talk so openly about his feelings to anyone, even though this someone was Wonho.

„My life isn't perfect. Not even the slightest but you are the reason for why I am happy recently and you're the person that started to listen to me, that started to care and I'm.. just very happy."

He looked up to Wonho, finally, because he actually didn't want to make this little talk so emotionally but everything just seemed to bubble out of him all of a sudden. Wonho stared at him a bit but then the curves of his lips formed into a very sweet smile and his eyes seemed to be a bit glossy. Minhyuk couldn't figure it out if it was because of the flickering of the fire or if he really had teary eyes. Wonho got closer to him, dangerously close. His gaze was fixed on him, still having his little smile on his lips.

"I also feel safe with you and I'm so glad that you feel like I can give you the feeling of a family. I think that is something, that we both need. Someone, that gives us safety and I'm glad that I found this in you." Wonho answered.

He trembled a bit just as if he was scared of what he wanted to do next. Wonho's eyes felt on Minhyuk's lips for barely a second before they meet Minhyuk's eyes again.

"Can I try something?" he asked.

Minhyuk just nodded, not sure if he understood it correctly because, well, even though he knew that he liked Wonho maybe a bit more than just friends, he was still confused about his feelings and he never thought that it was possible that Wonho could have feelings for him too.

He slowly, painfully slowly, got closer to Minhyuk and just before their lips would touch, they looked each other in the eyes, as if they needed the others approval. Minhyuk slowly nodded, feeling Wonho's skin on his while doing so.

When their lips touched it was so so soft. There was barely any pressure, simply because both of them were scared. Scared of rejection, that the other one didn't want it, that they possibly changed their mind but it happened and it was so soft. Both of them were gentle, kissing the other lips with such sweetness. They stayed like this, simply and slowly kissing the other and just being there. Minhyuk could feel how Wonho started smiling into the kiss after moments of realization that this was really happening and nobody moved away. How comfortable and save they felt with each other.

For a brief moment, both of them moved away just a bit so that they could still feel each other's breathes but could look in each other's eyes. Both started to smile as if the just received the most beautiful news. They finally knew that the feelings were mutual.

Minhyuk couldn't think of anything else at this moment except for the fact that Wonho kissed him because he would have never imagined what just happened. He simply was happy but also feared that Wonho could regret it and things could get weird. But why would Wonho do something like that without feeling anything, right?

He began to feel a little bit anxious because he couldn't stop overthinking and started picking at his cuticles. He tried to hide it but Wonho noticed it immediately and took his hands in his own, slowly caressing his knuckles with his thumb. Looking at Minhyuk's soft hands in his made Wonho's smile so so warm.

"I wanted to hold your hands for hours." He said softly.

"Please don't worry about anything okay? It may seem scary I know but I think that goes for both of us. I think..." he slowly breathed in and out and his gaze wandered away from Minhyuk hands to the fireplace, the flickering of the fire shimmering in his eyes. Minhyuk felt how his thumb trembled a bit. It must have been hard for Wonho as well.

"... I think these feelings that I have for you are mutual?" It was more like a question, not knowing if he could be sure, even though he was sure just a few seconds ago. He looked Minhyuk in the eyes again and he seemed so small, so so small which didn't fit his physical appearance at all. Minhyuk was lost in his glistering eyes.

"I... I guess so..." Minhyuk said almost soundless because he was so overwhelmed with this situation. But his answer started a slight panic in Wonho's eyes which was the exact opposite of what he wanted.

"No... no no. I mean yeah. It is indeed mutual. I'm just so confused you know?" He added immediately. He took Wonho's hand and held the other on his soft cheek. He leaned forward and kissed another time but this time both felt more confident. Confident but still so soft and careful. Knowing that the feelings were mutual made them feel safer and all the anxious thoughts were gone, simply away and they became one.

"You make me feel so happy and save, you can't even imagine." Wonho murmured, looking at Minhyuk as he is the most precious thing in the world. "I'm really thankful for your saving at the spring feast."

"And so am I." Minhyuk smiled, he couldn't even remember when he smiled so much like he did this evening.

Minhyuk stared up at the sky when the clouds opened up a bit again and exposed the Moon. Wonho followed his gaze and they both just stared at the night sky, it seemed like a long time or maybe just some minutes, Minhyuk couldn't tell after Wonho said quietly:

"Let's get in the tent, I'm getting sleepy and cold."

With that, the boys gathered all their things, their jackets, and blankets, but never let go of each other's hands until they entered their tent.


	6. Confessions

Everything from this moment went so easy. They entered the dark tent and changed into more comfortable clothes for the night. Normally, it would be weird for Minhyuk to change his clothes in front of somebody, but it was dark which made it way easier.

After changing they tried to somehow find the entrance of their sleeping bags, which was more difficult in the dark as they thought. They could have used their phone's flashlights if one of them would have thought about bringing a power bank but that, of course, was not the case.

"Hey, I found it!" Wonho shouted silently which sounded more like an aggressively excited whisper.

"Ahh wait I think me too!" Minhyuk answered him with a little giggle.

They glided into their warm sleeping bags and Minhyuk's gaze wandered at the ceiling of the tent where he could spot a blurry silhouette of the moon because the fabric was a little transparent.

He tried to process everything that just happened but got interrupted by Wonho who was taking his hand. He carefully rolled his body to the side and intertwined his fingers with Wonho's. He pulled his hand up and softly kissed his knuckled, resting it on his chin while he was trying to imagine Wonho's face next to him.

He still couldn't see much because of the darkness but his eyes slowly got familiar with it, so he could feel how this black-haired boy smiled at him so sweetly. Just his presence made it hard to keep Minhyuk's heart beat down.

He noticed that Wonho slowly came nearer and tried to pull him closer. He moved carefully because he knew if he would move too fast without seeing anything he could hurt both of them. Wonho freed one of his hands to find Minhyuk's cheek and to hold it softly.

After some seconds he found his way to Minhyuk's lips and gave him a very sweet kiss followed by a lot more kisses on his cheeks, his nose, his chin and everywhere in his face. Just how you'd kiss a little puppy over and over again.

Minhyuk couldn't stop smiling because it was so ridiculous and sweet. So ridiculous that he started laughing until Wonho had to stop because had to laugh too.

So, Wonho just pulled the laughing boy in his arms and they remained kissing each other lightly from time to time. It felt as if they were in their own little bubble. Nothing except to them existed at this moment.

It only felt as if they stayed like this for some brief moments, but they've been lying there like this for a little eternity.

"It's always those moments you enjoy the most which make you feel as if time just keep running and running," Minhyuk said.

"I thought it would be still cold, especially in a tent, but it's really warm and cozy. I'm surprised." Minhyuk sounded sleepy.

"Well, I mean you share the tent with me it must be hot." Wonho joked which Minhyuk responded by shaking his head and a little hit.

But Wonho was warm as well, if not even hot. He tucked at his shirt, giving him a signal to take it off and when Minhyuk got it, Wonho did the same. Minhyuk was always a bit self-conscious about his body because he was very slim and skinny and never thought it would be attractive in any kind, so he slightly hugged himself when he took his shirt off.

Wonho on the other side was muscular with a broad back but somehow still managed to look so so soft. In Minhyuk's eyes, he was absolutely breathtaking.

Wonho, though immediately felt that Minhyuk didn't feel comfortable shirtless and quickly pulled him back in his arms to make him feel safe again.

It must have been in the middle of the night already and although they felt exhausted and tired earlier the tiredness was gone completely.

They stayed like this arm in arm until Minhyuk got an idea. He tapped on Wonho's chest and said:

"I don't know if you want to, but would you like to capture this? I find it hard to remember a lot of things and I really don't want to forget anything of today."

"Sure. I don't want to forget this either." He smiled, kissed Minhyuk's forehead and let go of him.

Minhyuk went to his backpack and rummaged through his things until he found it. His polaroid camera. He returned to Wonho again and was a little too tempestuous because he tripped over Wonho's foot.

"Oh my... you promised me to keep care last week, remember?" Wonho laughed and searched for his hand to guide him the way.

Minhyuk slipped back in his sleeping bag, adjusted the correct settings for the flash and started to take some pictures.

Some were sweet, were Wonho would give Minhyuk a kiss on his cheeks. Some showed just them, looking comfortable and happy. Some were pictures that the one took from the other in which they giggled and laughed. It made the polaroids even more precious. They couldn't wait until they could see them in the morning.

After their little photoshoot, Minhyuk put the camera aside and went back to the comfort of Wonho's arms. Together with the calming sound of the waves from afar, it didn't take long until both of them finally fell asleep.

It was a calm night with almost no wind, the only sound you could hear was the waves hitting the rocks and the crickets playing their nightly songs. But as calm as the night might have seemed Minhyuk's dreams weren't as he suddenly started shivering. He was still asleep as he pushed Wonho away and made anxious noises.

"Hey hey... hey," Wonho who just woke up by Minhyuk's cry out tried to calm him. He held Minhyuk's head and ensured him that everything was fine.

"It's okay... It was just a dream... just a dream." He reassured Minhyuk. He pulled him back in his arms and stroke the head of the crying boy.

"I'm sorry.", Minhyuk whispered not really scared but ashamed.

"Don't be sorry. It was just a bad dream." Wonho repeated not knowing that it wasn't just a dream.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked.

But Minhyuk didn't answer. He just stayed silent instead and hid his face in Wonho's chest.

"Try to sleep again, okay? I'm here. I won't go anywhere.", he whispered.

Wonho felt that he didn't want to tell him what he dreamt, so he didn't ask further and caressed the back of his head until both of them fell asleep again.

The night was quiet and calm again. Both boys could sleep the night through without any more discontinuities until the sun began to rise and the rays of light made Wonho slowly wake up.

He needed a moment to realize where he was but when he found Minhyuk hidden in his chest, clinging to his body he remembered immediately. It made Wonho grin to see Minhyuk like this. He looked so small.

Wonho saw the Polaroid camera next to him and checked if there were still enough pictures left. He gave him a kiss on his forehead and took two pictures in secret, so he would have one for himself and one he could surprise him with one day. They looked different from the ones at night. Warmer. Softer.

Now that it was bright and sunny again he could see how calm and beautiful Minhyuk looked. The messy hair and his pure expression made Wonho blush a little.

But when Minhyuk moved a little and loosened his hug the bright light also revealed the bruise on his left underarm again which was still quite intense although it was days ago when he noticed it at school for the first time.

Wonho pulled the sleeping bag down a little and it wasn't the only one he could see. Some near his rips and collarbone, even a bigger scar on his shoulder. He was scared to find more and he was even more scared of how he got them.

As Minhyuk finally woke up too and opened his eyes the light was too bright for his sleepy eyes and he had to blink. His little uneven blink which Wonho adored so much that he couldn't help himself but smile although he was still shocked about how Minhyuks body was littered with scars.

"Hey, sleepy. You had a rough night... how are you?", Wonho stroke through Minhyuk's hair held his chin up and kissed him softly.

"Good morning.", Minhyuk said playfully with his raspy morning voice but went more serious after a few seconds again.

"I'm sorry for last night. I... I hope I didn't hurt you or anything." Minhyuk said a little ashamed because he just wanted to escape his normal life and it still managed to somehow interrupt peaceful time.

"No, of course not but ...", Wonho hesitated before he continued to make sure he would find the correct words.

"To be honest I'm a little concerned about you. I respected that you didn't want to tell me where you got the bruise and wanted to let it be, but I swore to keep an eye on you that day. It isn't the only bruise, Minhyuk, and I'm scared. Don't you wanna tell me where you really got them?", he said carefully.

Wonho could feel how scared Minhyuk was too because he felt his heart racing through his chest. Minhyuk's eyes started to tear up, so he sat because he couldn't tell Wonho while looking him in his eyes. It was hard enough. Wonho followed him and put his hand on his back.

When he felt Wonho's hand on his back the tears started running down his face. He looked up to the ceiling because that's what he always does to not let the tears fall down.

"I... I told you that my dad left us, right? And my mom...", Minhyuk said with a shivering voice. He knew if he would look at him, he would get too anxious and change his mind again. But he couldn't just act as if it was nothing. He was crying. Wonho wouldn't believe him anyway. He regretted that he undressed his shirt, but he didn't think about the bruises last night. Nothing than them existed not even the scars.

"Well, my mom married my stepfather and a lot changed after that.", he hesitated again.

Wonho felt that it was hard for him he gently stroke his upper arm to calm him down a bit.

"When they started dating everything was fine and when they decided to marry and return to our old city I actually was kind of excited to come back because of my old friends. It might surprise you but Kihyun was my best friend once. Before we had to leave I mean. But when we returned, he had changed a lot." Minhyuk had to laugh but his tears kept running.

Wonho was shocked to hear that they were friends once because Kihyun's behavior was full of hate towards Minhyuk. Kihyun took every opportunity to harm or embarrass him, so Wonho's brain started hurting just by thinking about them being best friends. What kind of person would treat his old friend like that?

"You know, while my mom got her old job back at the hospital, my stepfather didn't find a job and his real self started to show. He started drinking, got mad because of the smallest things. He thinks it was my fault. That everything bad in his life is my fault. Apparently, mom told him she wanted to return because it was the best for me, my social life and education but everything would be better than... this...", he pointed at his bruises and felt how his throat tightened, so he had to pause.

Wonho's heart broke and felt how his eyes also teared up and back hugged him tightly to comfort Minhyuk, and also himself. Minhyuk started sobbing when he realized that he finally told it, somebody. An enormous weight fell off his heart and he could feel how much he needed somebody he could really trust.

"I'm so so sorry.", Wonho whispered because he didn't manage to say anything out loud at that moment.

"She doesn't even know," Minhyuk said with a raspy voice.

"You're safe here, okay? I'll make sure you're safe," Wonho assured him.

"You can't tell anyone. It will just make it worse! Promise me!", Minhyuk said scared turning back to look at Wonho.

"But ... what if it happens again?", Wonho was confused and scared at the same time.

"Please, promise me!", Minhyuk begged him and Wonho nodded, not knowing if he really should keep it for himself. But the last thing he wanted was to betray his trust when he finally opened up to someone.

"Just promise me to stay away from him and if something happens again you come to me, you tell me immediately, okay? I just want to keep you save." Wonho softly commanded and caressed Minhyuk's shoulder.

The boys stayed silent for some moments, arm in arm until Shownu shouted for them from afar for a morning run on the beach.

Wonho wiped away Minhyuk tears and handed him his shirt, so they could get ready for their run.

"I will tell you if something happens again," Minhyuk held back Wonho's arm before he could open the tent. Wonho nodded, a little bit happier and fixed Minhyuks hair before they went outside where Shownu waited for them already.

"And now you need to cheer up again, okay? We still got some time for us left." Wonho smiled at him so softly that Minhyuk also started smiling again.

Due to the fact that Minhyuk wasn't used to go on runs both of them tried to slow it down at the beginning but made fun of Minhyuk from time to time by sprinting and leaving him behind a few meters.

Wonho was happy to see that Minhyuk could laugh again and that he enjoyed his time even though he was out of breath and all sweaty.

But Shownu still somehow noticed that the boys were quite down and more silent than usual. When they returned to the beach Shownu decided that it was time to cheer them up, so he lured them to the water and splashed it at them.

"Are you crazy? It's too cold!", Wonho screamed at him.

"Don't be so sensitive!", Shownu teased him and splashed some more on them.

"Okay, that means war!" Wonho screamed, took Minhyuk by his hand and ran into the freezing water.

 

To be continued...

 

PS:

Due to personal difficulties, Nami and I decided to go separate ways from now on. However, this story is too important and we agreed that it shall continue. So, don't worry because the story won't end yet and you can look forward to a lot more chapters in the future!

Credits to Nami for chapters 1-6


	7. Overcoming Fears

Although Shownu started this fight he regretted it immediately. The water was freezing cold. Colder than he expected it to be, so it caused cramps in his feet. But he just played it cool and splashed some more water on them.

"OH MY!" Minhyuk screamed when his skin felt how cold the water was.

Wonho just kept running after Shownu as if he didn't feel anything. But when he noticed that Minhyuk was struggling because of the coldness he offered him to carry him on his back.

"Jump on, we'll get him!" Wonho laughed when he saw Minhyuk's shocked puppy eyes.

Without the slightest sign of hesitation, Minhyuk jumped on his back, clinging to his body as Wonho started to run after his brother.

Normally, they wouldn't have a chance to catch him like this but because of the cramps, Shownu was slow too. After some meters they finally caught him and when Wonho let himself and Minhyuk fall onto Shownu, all three of them fell into the water.

They hysterically laughed and gasped for air. Since it was so freezing cold they immediately ran out of the water and sat down at the beach into the warm sun to get dry again.

"I can't believe you actually caught me," Shownu said all sulky.

"You get old." Wonho joked.

"OLD?! As if." Shownu laughed and pushed him a little.

After some time in the sun and watching the water the boys could hear Shownu's stomach growl.

"I think this means we should go get some breakfast," Minhyuk suggested and both of the boys agreed. Wonho cheerfully offered Shownu his hand to stand up.

"Come on, old boy. We'll get you some food."

Shownu couldn't believe it. He shook his head and let out an annoyed growl but took Wonho's hand anyway.

They went back to the camping place where their truck was waiting to drive into the nearest town to get some breakfast.

They went to a local café in the middle of the town. The atmosphere of the place was a little bit nostalgic because of the old pictures of the staff on the walls and the record player on the counter which played some David Bowie songs. The room was a little crowded because it was Saturday and people always enjoyed going out for breakfast if they don't have to go to work early in the morning.

However, the boys found a table for four in the corner next to the counter where the record player filled the room with music.

They waited for the waitress and ordered some eggs and bacon for breakfast and enjoyed it with some coffee.

After some time of eating Shownu said: "I was so exhausted from the ride yesterday that I went to sleep pretty early. Did I miss something?" Which caused Minhyuk to choke on his coffee.

"We almost fell asleep outside after some time, so we went into the tent soon too," Wonho answered.

"Are you okay?" he laughed and hit Minhyuk on the back because he was still couching slightly.

"Yeah, I... I'll just go to the bathroom for a second. I'll be right back."

Wonho wasn't sure if he should go with him but he somehow felt, that he needed a minute for himself, so he stayed with Shownu.

Shownu gave Wonho a little push with his shoulder.

"So, you really don't wanna tell me what happened?"

Wonho smiled shyly.

"Well... we kissed," Wonho said so silently that it was barely understandable with all the loud people around them.

"Sorry?" Shownu said and leaned over to Wonho to understand him better.

"Aaah we kissed!" Wonho said louder now with the biggest smile possible.

"I KNEW IT!" Shownu said hitting the table, "You know... you looked really in love lately."

"What are you even talking about?" Wonho laughed and leaned back in disbelieve.

"You smiled a lot lately, you texted a lot too and the most obvious behavior was definitely..." he leaned forward to Wonho and continued whispering "that you can't take your eyes off him."

Wonho pushed him away again and laughed out loud. He couldn't even deny anything because it was true.

The kid next to them accidentally spilled the hot syrup for the pancakes which created a little uproar in the room. When everything calmed down again Shownu said all serious now:

"I'm happy for you. You deserve some happiness after everything that happened with Hyungwon."

"Thank you," Wonho said with a soft smile.

"Did you tell him?" Shownu asked his little brother.

"Not yet."

...

Meanwhile, Minhyuk could calm his throat again. He was alone in the bathroom, washed his hands and looked in the mirror above the sink. It always felt quite weird for him to look into mirrors in places he'd never been to before. The different surrounding, the different lighting and the different shapes of mirrors. It always seemed as if a different person would look at him instead of himself.

His hair was still a little messy, so he tried to fix the hair of the stranger in the mirror who was looking at him.

Just as he wanted to get back to the boys, a man with his little son entered the bathroom. The man was clearly mad. His shirt was all messed up with syrup and so was the kid.

"Look, what you've done!" he shouted.

Minhyuk wasn't sure if the man saw him when they entered the bathroom or if he just didn't care that he was there.

The man just wildly opened the tap and splashed a paper towel soaked with water on the boy's arm to get him clean again. Minhyuk didn't know if the man didn't notice this either but it clearly hurt the boy because the intense rubbing let his skin turn into bright red and he started to cry. It was a silent crying but Minhyuk felt it.

"You're hurting him," Minhyuk said silently.

The man turned around to look at him but didn't bother him and just continued.

Minhyuk knew it wasn't his business, but the boy somehow reminded him of himself. Maybe more than his reflection in the mirror earlier.

"I said you're hurting him!" Minhyuk said louder now.

The man stood up and went over to Minhyuk which caused him to swallow. He expected to get pushed or hit by the man, but he just pressed the wet paper towel against Minhyuk's chest and said:

"You know what? You should do it." And left him alone with the boy.

Minhyuk was perplexed. What kind of father would let his son alone with a stranger? The boy looked at him with big eyes while he was holding his red arm. He went over to the boy and kneed down so he was at his height.

"Are you okay?" he asked the little boy.

"Mhm."

"We will clean your shirt and then I'll bring you to your mom okay?"

He gently cleaned the boy from the sticky syrup and the little boy even helped him to throw away the paper towels afterward.

...

Outside of the bathroom Wonho and Shownu who already wondered where Minhyuk had been for so long could hear the argument from the table next to them.

"You let him alone? I don't think he can do this on his own," The woman said.

"He isn't alone. That one brat thought I wasn't gentle enough and that he could do it better, so I let him."

"You let him alone with a stranger?" the woman was furious and visibly annoyed by the man.

"Pay the damn bill!" She said angrily and rushed over to the bathroom.

Wonho somehow felt that this was about Minhyuk and went after her.

"Sanha," the woman said.

Minhyuk stood up and the boy took Minhyuk's hand.

"I was just trying to h-..." Minhyuk wanted to say but the woman just took the boy and said:

"You don't need to explain... I know how my husband can be sometimes."

The woman went outside giving him a last nod to say goodbye or maybe even to thank him.

"I don't know if you search for drama intentionally or if it finds you." Wonho who stood in the door joked but he was concerned at the same time.

"I guess my whole life is a drama." Minhyuk had to laugh.

"I know you just wanted to help. I heard how they talked to each other on the table and they argued the whole time. Don't take it too hard, okay?" Wonho said and gave him a gentle kiss.

They enjoyed it to have a minute with each other where nobody would see them or could judge them for showing affection towards each other.

When they came back into the café the family was gone and Shownu waited at their table. He ordered a stack of pancakes for themselves.

"I don't know about you guys, but this situation made me crave pancakes too," which made both of them laugh because it was such a typical Shownu thing to do.

They enjoyed their pancakes and the people in the café slowly became less and less until only a few remained. Minhyuk was still surprised how easy it felt to go on a trip with them. He always hated it to go on school trips because he never had a group he really belonged to and ended up in a room with people he didn't know or with people who didn't like him and as a result didn't include him at all. He hated those trips, but some were compulsory, so he had to attend. And sometimes those trips were a better option than staying at home.

He met Shownu and Wonho only a few weeks ago and he didn't really know Shownu at all because he only met him once in the cafeteria. But despite that, he felt like they'd been friends for a long time already. There were no awkward silent moments between them and whenever he talked he didn't feel like somebody would laugh at him because they thought he was weird. His biggest fear was that he would feel like a third wheel, but this wasn't the case at all. They always looked after him and gave him chances to take part in conversations. Wonho and Shownu really wanted him to be there and it made Minhyuk incredibly happy.

They finished their pancakes and paid the bill. Of course, Shownu insisted to pay Minhyuk's breakfast too. After that, they jumped on the truck and drove away, but to the surprise of the boys into a different direction.

"Don't we need to go this way?" Minhyuk asked Wonho who looked surprised too.

He turned around and knocked against the window for the driver's cabin.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a secret. I asked the waitress for some spots to visit while you two were gone." Shownu said.

...

They drove for about twenty minutes and enjoyed every second of it. The two boys made themselves comfortable and laid down next to each other at the back of the truck while they were watching the trees and clouds fly by. It was a warm and sunny day, so there were almost no clouds above them.

When they arrived at Shownu's surprise destination, Wonho already knew what it was when he saw the first signs next to the street. He definitely wasn't as amused about it as Minhyuk or Shownu.

"A climbing park," Wonho said in disbelieve followed by a hysterical laugh.

"A CLIMBING PARK!? Really?" He screamed into the driver's cabin so Shownu would hear him too.

Shownu just held up his thumb and started to laugh when he saw Wonho's expression through the front mirror. Although he actually wanted to jump out of the car and run back to the camping area by himself if he had to, Wonho started laughing too after he realized how his brother had betrayed him.

Shownu wanted to go climbing for a long time but Wonho always managed to find excuses or convinced him that it was a bad idea. Until now of course.

"Are you scared of heights or something?" Minhyuk had to laugh too.

"Yeah," Wonho said whiney and rolled over on Minhyuk's stomach to hide his face in his arms.

"Ahh... But you will be safe! They will keep an eye on you and secure you, so if you really fall you won't get harmed." Minhyuk said and ruffled through Wonho's hair.

"I know but the height itself makes me go insane. Whenever I stand somewhere higher than usual I get anxious and have this feeling as if the ground is just waiting for me down there to fall. I mean I just need to go over a grid on the streets and my knees get weak."

"Come on, just give it a try. Sometimes it is good to try things that scare you. Sometimes the things we are scared of the most turn out to not be scary after all."

Wonho didn't say anything and just looked up from his arms, meeting Minhyuk's eyes.

"And if you fall I'll try to catch you." Minhyuk joked.

"You think you could catch me? I'm not even sure if you could carry me." Wonho laughed amazed by Minhyuk's confidence and playfully pocked his biceps.

"Hey! I tried to be a kind and encouraging friend!" Minhyuk acted as if Wonho's words hurt him.

"A friend?" Wonho asked more serious and looked him deeply in the eye.

"W-What if we changed the term 'friend' into 'boyfriend'?" he asked hopefully.

Minhyuk suddenly felt how his heartbeat skyrocketed and how his cheeks started to burn because his face turned red. He didn't expect a question like this because about one month ago he never really thought about trusting somebody in such an extent. One month ago, he never really thought about being in a relationship and definitely not with a boy. One month ago, he didn't even come out to himself.

"Yeah," Minhyuk smiled shyly and stroke through Wonho's hair.

"Yes?" Wonho turned a little red too.

"YES!" Minhyuk said louder.

Wonho who was still lying on Minhyuks stomach tried to give him a kiss but Minhyuk held him back.

"Hey hey... Shownu could see us."

"You don't have to be scared he already knows," Wonho said softly but those words changed Minhyuk's expression. He clearly didn't want somebody to know yet.

"I mean he knows that I like guys," Wonho added to relieve his tension again.

"Oh, so you came out already?"

Wonho returned to his position and laid down on Minhyuk's stomach again.

"Yeah, last year, but it was more accidentally than intentionally."

"So, you didn't plan to?" Minhyuk asked.

"No, sadly not. I wished I could have taken my time to figure some things out before I was ready to tell somebody about it, but life doesn't always go as planned."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's a long story. I think I should tell you this story when we don't have to face this." Wonho said and pointed at the climbing park entrance which they approached at that moment.

"Okay, whenever you're ready," Minhyuk said and quickly gave him a kiss on the forehead so that Shownu wouldn't see it.

...

At the registration desk, they got a little introduction for dos and don'ts in the climbing area and received their equipment. They also got an introduction of the safety care just as the magnetic safety cables. Although the guy ensured them that it was impossible to disconnect both of them and to fall down, Wonho was still slightly panicking.

After they put on the equipment they walked over to the climbing area and with every step in its direction Wonho became tenser and tenser. Even Minhyuk and Shownu could feel how strained he was.

"Are you alright?" Minhyuk asked him and put his hand on Wonho's shoulder.

"Yeah, it will be fine."

Minhyuk knew he was lying but he was proud of him that he actually tried to do it.

When they arrived at the first tree on which the first obstacles were placed and saw how high it was, even Minhyuk was a little scared, but they were about to do this. Wonho said he would do it, so all of them needed to go through this.

"You can do it," Shownu looked Wonho straight in the eye and held both his shoulders, "We fight our fears, so we can grow into a better version of ourselves."

"Wow, are you some kind of motivational trainer or something?" Minhyuk said.

"No," Shownu laughed, "I just watch a lot of work out videos I guess."

...

The path started at a little plateau where a pendant bridge was connected with some trees. Shownu took the lead and Wonho who was behind him followed every one of his steps. Minhyuk was behind Wonho to keep an eye on him. But the main reason he was at the back was that Shownu asked Minhyuk to. Before they entered the entrance hall Shownu said to him that he was scared that Wonho would stop at some point because he could start to panic and if both of them would be in front he would stay behind without any help.

The bridge wasn't a big deal for Wonho at first but every step he took it got higher and higher. When the bridge ended they waited together at a small platform on a tree.

Until this point, Wonho managed to not look down but when he turned around to see where Minhyuk was he saw how high they already were. His hands started shaking and his knees became a little weak.

When Minhyuk arrived on the platform he immediately saw how shaky Wonho's hands were and reached for them as soon as his feet stepped on the wood.

"Look! You're doing amazing!" he said and pressed his hand a little more.

"It's so high," Wonho answered with a wobbly voice.

"Yeah but you climbed up so high already and I believe you can go even higher. We can do this!"

Minhyuk turned Wonho around to face the next task which Shownu, who waited at the next platform, already mastered.

There were a net five meters in front of him and a metal rope attached above of him which he had to connect with his safety harness. His shaky hands struggled to open the carabiner, so Minhyuk helped him. Shownu waved at Wonho to tell him he can do it.

"You need to jump! Nothing will happen, you're secure... Just let go!" he screamed from the platform.

"Ha Ha!" Wonho screamed back to him but his voice cracked a little.

"Alright, Alright ..." he mumbled.

He closed his eyes for a moment and Minhyuk could feel how scared he was to jump.

"You can do it. If you jump I'll be right behind you." Minhyuk said as calm as he could although he was a little scared by himself.

Wonho looked at him and nodded with a smile. An anxious smile but he smiled. He took a deep breath and hesitated for a moment but to everyone's surprise, he really did it. He jumped.

When he landed in the net he immediately crawled his fingers into it so hard that his knuckles turned white. He let out a loud scream. It was a happy and hopeful scream because he actually did it. For some moments he wasn't sure himself if he would jump but he did. He was relieved and proud of himself that he could beat his fear.

"I-I did it. I really jumped," he said to Shownu who held out his hand to help him up to the platform.

"I'm proud of you!" Shownu said and pushed Wonho immediately into a tight hug.

"Me too," Wonho answered him with a giggle.

"Hey, I'm proud of you too!" Minhyuk screamed over from the net.

"Wow, you're fast! We couldn't even see you jump!" Shownu said and helped him up too.

The rest of the climbing wasn't as scary anymore and all of them could enjoy it. Sure, sometimes they struggled but they had fun.

After the last tree, they returned their equipment and went back to the car.

"You know... I didn't think I would, but I really enjoyed it. Thank you," Wonho said to Shownu.

"I wanted to do this for like four months at least, you know!" Shownu said and ruffled through his little brother's hair before he opened the car door.

"And thank you for the encouragement, Minhyuk-ah! You were right. After I jumped it didn't seem so scary anymore."

"I'm just really happy that you did it. Overcoming your fears is important and this was the first step." Minhyuk smiled and jumped on the back of the truck.

"Then we need to also overcome your fears together in the future," Wonho said and joined him.

The engine of the truck started and the boys prepared the pillows and blankets for the ride back to the camping place.

"Ready?" Shownu asked from the driver's cabin.

"Ready for takeoff!" Both screamed simultaneously which made all of them laugh.

 

To be continued...


End file.
